Name: _________________________________
Period: _____________
Classification Worksheet
Linnaean Classification
Name Linnaeus’ 7
taxonomic categories from
LARGEST to
SMALLEST ↓
Choose an organism and fill in
its taxonomic classification.
(Hint: start with species and work
your way up)
List an organism by common name that is
found in that same taxon as your
organism but not in the next taxon down.
Example*: If my animal were a house fly, I
could put Dungeness crab in the same
phylum (Arthropoda) because they are not in
the same class (Insecta and Malacostraca,
respectively)
* Don’t copy my example!
Page 1 of 5
Name: _________________________________
Period: _____________
Three Domains
All organisms belong to one of three domains, depending on their characteristics. A domain is the most
inclusive taxonomic category. A single domain can contain one or more kingdoms.
If you need, use your book to help fill in each of the domain names in the correct place in the table:
Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.
DOMAIN
CHARACTERISTICS
EXAMPLES
unicellular prokaryotes
Bacillus, E. coli,
peptidoglycan cell wall, cell membrane, ribosomes
Streptococcus
Cyanobacteria = “blueno membrane-bound organelles
naked DNA, single circular chromosome,
green algae”
asexual reproduction = binary fission
unicellular prokaryotes
Methanococcus,
cell wall (no peptidoglycans), cell membrane, ribosomes, Halobacterium,
Thermoproteus
no membrane-bound organelles
DNA + histone proteins, single circular chromosome
asexual reproduction = binary fission
unicellular & multicellular eukaryotes
animals, plants, protests,
membrane-bound organelles: nucleus, mitochondria,
fungi
chloroplasts, Golgi complex, ER, lysosomes
1. Which domains are composed of unicellular organisms only?
2. To which domain do organisms whose cells contain nuclei belong?
3. Think of some of the words we use with temperature such as thermostat and thermometer. Now look
at the names of the example organisms. Hypothesis which one can withstand high temperatures?
Why is this your hypothesis?
4. Which domain(s) do the organisms use DNA?
5. The separation of Bacteria and Archaea first occurred in 1977. Long after they were first discovered.
Using the information provided why do you think it took so long to separate these into separate
domains?
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Name: _________________________________
Period: _____________
Cladograms
6. Fill in the following table. Mark an ‘X’ if an organism has each trait.
Hair/fur
Legs
Bipedal
Eyes
Human
Fish
Lizard
Mouse
7. Fill in the cladogram below.
a. Add each of these organisms to your cladogram below
human, fish, lizard, mouse.
b. Label each branch of your cladogram with the proper characteristic.
8. Using the cladogram that you just completed above in number 7, clearly circle two clades.
Page 3 of 5
Name: _________________________________
Period: _____________
Identifying Kingdoms of Eukarya
The domain Eukarya is made up of four kingdoms: Animalia, Fungi, Plantae, and Protista.
Fill in the table using the kingdoms listed above.
Kingdom
Mode of
Nutrition
Multicellular
or Unicellular
Cell Wall
Reproduction
autotrophs
multicellular
(photosynthesis)
Cell wall
(cellulose)
• sexual
(spores & seeds)
• asexual
(cuttings, tubers, etc.)
heterotrophs
(by ingestion)
None
• sexual (gametes)
• some have cell
wall
• some have
only cell
membrane
• mostly asexual
- binary fission
- budding
• sometimes sexual
multicellular
autotrophs
(photosynthesis,
unicellular or
chemosynthesis)
multicelluar
heterotrophs
(predators)
heterotrophs
(by absorption)
multicellular or Cell wall
unicellular
(chitin)
Example





mosses
ferns
gymnosperm
angiosperm
invertebrate: sponges,
worms, mollusks,
arthropods
 vertebrates: fish,
amphibians, reptiles,
birds, mammals
 Euglena, Amoeba,
 Paramecium, kelp
• mostly sexual
 mushrooms
- + and - strains
 bread mold
• asexual for unicellular
 yeast
yeast
9. Autotrophs are organisms that produce their own food (such as carbohydrates, fats, and proteins)
from simple substances present in its surroundings. (“Auto” = self; “troph” = nourish) Which
kingdoms contain autotrophs?
10. Which kingdoms contain unicellular organisms?
11. To which kingdom do grizzly bears belong?
12. What do fungi and plantae have in common?
13. What do fungi and animalia have in common?
14. Which kingdoms have photosynthesizers?
Page 4 of 5
Name: _________________________________
Period: _____________
Vocabulary
Match the description on the right to its vocabulary word on the left by putting the corresponding letter
of the description next to the correct vocabulary word.
Vocabulary Word
Letter
Description
1. Linnaeus
A. domain of unicellular prokaryotes that have cells walls
that do not contain peptidoglycan
2. Taxa
B. a tool that allows the user to determine the identity of
items based on a series of choices between alternative
characters
3. Species
C. study of evolutionary relationships among organisms
4. Binomial
nomenclature
D. domain of unicellular prokaryotes that have cell walls
containing peptidoglycan
5. Domain
E. devised a system of naming organisms that is still in
use today
F. In ____________, an organism is given a 2‐part
scientific name that give the organism’s genus and
species
G. the smallest taxon is the ________, which is made up
of organisms that similar characteristics and can breed
with one another.
6. Eukarya
7. Dichotomous Key
8. Scientific Name
H. evolutionary branch of a cladogram that includes a
single ancestor and all its descendants
9. Bacteria
I. domain that includes all organisms that have a nucleus
10. Archaea
J. another name for a binomial nomenclature
11. Clade
K. organisms are placed in __________, or classification
groups
12. Phylogeny
L. a larger, more inclusive taxonomic category than a
kingdom
Other Vocabulary Words
Genus
Order
Family
Kingdom
Class
Phylum
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