• This class is not just a “science” class.
• We will study living things.
• The branch of science that studies all the living things on Earth is called Biology .

In order to be considered living, an object must have or being able to do the following 6 things:
1. Have highly organized bodies with at least 1 cell
2. Can reproduce
3. Have genetic material
4. Can grow & develop
5. Have a metabolism
6. Can adapt & evolve

• A cell is a collection of molecules that are able to perform the functions of life

• Reproduction is the process where organisms create new, genetically similar, organisms to themselves

• Genetic material is a molecule that holds the information for making the traits of an organism

• Growth is the process where living things increase in size
• Development is the process where living things get new body parts or abilities

• Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions in a living thing that either use or release energy

• Adapting is the process where organisms change their bodies or behavior based on their environment
• Evolution is the change in the genetics and characteristics of a species over time

• If an object has all 6characteristics, then it is considered an organism
– An organism is a living thing
– The term “ biotic ” is used to describe living things
• If an object is missing 1 or more characteristics, then it is considered non-living
– The term “ abiotic ” is used to describe nonliving things

 Has a cell
 Can reproduce
 Has genetic material
 Grows & develops
 Has a metabolism
 Can adapt & evolve

 Has a cell
 Can reproduce
 Has genetic material
 Grows & develops
 Has a metabolism
 Can adapt & evolve

 Has a cell
 Can reproduce
 Has genetic material
 Grows & develops
 Has a metabolism
 Can adapt & evolve

 Has a cell
 Can reproduce
 Has genetic material
 Grows & develops
 Has a metabolism
 Can adapt & evolve

• Classification is the process of grouping living things based on their similarities and differences
• The branch of science that deals with naming and classifying organisms is known as taxonomy
• Taxon ( taxa -plural) is the generic term for any of the groups organisms are put into at any of the levels

• Which taxa an organism is placed into depends on its adaptations
• An adaptation is a body part or behavior that helps an organism live or reproduce

• There is a hierarchy (series of levels) of groups (taxa) from broadest to most specific
– The higher a taxon is on the list, the more organisms are in it
– The lower a taxon is on the list, the fewer organisms are in it
– The more taxa two organisms share, the more adaptations they have in common

Level of
Classification
Definition
Domain A group kingdoms that have similar characteristics
Kingdom A group of phyla that have similar characteristics
Phylum A group of classes that have similar characteristics
Class A group of orders that have similar characteristics
Order A group of families that have similar characteristics
Family A group of genera that have similar characteristics
Genus A group of species that have similar characteristics
Species
A group of organisms that have many characteristics in common and are able to reproduce with each other and make fertile offspring

• There are 3 taxa at the domain level
• There are 6 taxa at the kingdom level
• There are around 100 taxa at the phylum level
• There are thousands of taxa at the class level
• There are tens of thousands of taxa at the order level
• There are hundreds of thousands of taxa at the family level
• There are a few million taxa at the genus level
• There are between 8 & 10 million taxa at the species level
(not including the ones for bacteria and archaea)

• Organisms get classified into a taxon (group) at each level of classification based on their adaptations
• Here’s how humans are classified…
Level of
Classification
Domain
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Taxon
Eukarya
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Primates
Hominidae
Homo sapiens
Characteristics members of that taxon share
Cells have a nucleus & other organized parts
Bodies have more than one cell & ingest food
Have a spinal cord
Have fur, feed milk to babies, control their own body temperature
5 fingers/toes per hand/foot, opposable thumbs, large cerebellum (brain)
32 teeth, limbs and hands/feet built for terrestrial life
Throat and brain built for complex language
Complex logical and abstract thought
Other members of the taxon
Algae, fungus, & plants
Clams, starfish, insects, & worms
Fish, frogs, snakes, & birds
Whales, bats, mice, & elephants
Lemurs, monkeys, & baboons
Chimps, gorillas, & orangutans
Homo neanderthalensis
Homo erectus
NONE

People in different countries speak different languages so their names for organisms are all different
Could lead to confusion for scientists trying to share information

Scientific names for organisms are all in Latin
It’s fair because
Latin is not spoken anywhere as a first language

Problem with naming organisms #2
• The animal in the picture below is called all of the following names in the US:
– cougar,
– mountain lion,
– puma,
– Nittany lion,
– Florida panther
– catamount
• Different regions within the same country give the same organism different names.

Solution to naming problem #2
• The animal in the picture below has the scientific name:
Puma concolor
• Scientific names are unique to the organism.
• All organisms have 1 name & names are not used more than once

• Some common names don’t accurately describe what the organism actually is
• Starfish, silverfish & jellyfish are not fish.

• Scientific names are usually descriptions of the characteristics of the organism
• Felis = cat
• silvestris = woodlands
• Felis silvestris = cat of the woodlands

• The scientist who discovers and describes a new organism gets to name it.
– Some are named after themselves
– Some are named after famous people
– Some are named as a joke

• Binomial nomenclature gives every organism a standard, 2-word, scientific name
• Rules for writing a scientific name:
– First word is the genus name
– Second word is the species name
– First letter of the genus gets capitalized
– First letter of the species is lower case
– Whole name gets italicized when it is typed
(or underlined when it is handwritten)
• Example for humans:

• There are 2 types of tools that can help scientists identify and classify organisms:
– Dichotomous keys
(also called taxonomic keys )
– Field Guides
• They both have benefits and problems

• Characteristics given in pairs
– Organism will either have one characteristic or the other
• Read both characteristics and either go to another set of characteristics OR identify the organism
• GOOD = organized and can be used forward and backwards
• BAD = can get pretty technical (need to know a lot about the organism’s characteristics)

• 1a Tentacles present – Go to 2
• 1b Tentacles absent – Go to 6
• 2a Eight Tentacles – Octopus
• 2b More than 8 tentacles – Go to 3
• 3a Tentacles hang down – Go to 4
• 3b Tentacles upright – Sea Anemone
• 4a Balloon-shaped body – Jellyfish
• 4b Body NOT balloon-shaped – Go to 5

• Book of pictures of different organisms
• Match the characteristics of the organism you are trying to identify to the characteristics of the organisms in the pictures
• GOOD = don’t have to know anything other than what the organism looks like
• BAD = takes a long time and easy to miss small differences between organisms