Key Vocabulary
Taxonomy
Taxonomy, Taxonomist, Taxon, Kingdom, Genus, Species,
Eukaryote, Prokaryote, Heterotroph, Autotroph, Monera,
Protista, Fungi, Animalia, Plantae, Binomial Nomenclature
How are these 2 organisms different?
How are the 2 cells below different?
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How are the 2 cells below different?
Why are organisms classified?
1. To help biologists __________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________
 Look up a word in the dictionary. It would be very hard if all the pages
were ripped out and put in a random pile.
 Instead, words are arranged or classified for us in alphabetical order
making it easier to locate words.
 There are about 1.5 million different organisms living on Earth and more being
discovered each year!
Classification
 Classification – grouping of organisms based on similarities
 Taxonomy – branch of science that names and classifies
organisms
 Taxonomists – scientists who name and classify organisms
How are organisms classified?
 Organisms are classified ____________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
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Organisms put into Taxons based on similarities
Taxon
 _________________________ where organisms share similar characteristics
 Anyone of the 7 taxonomic groups (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order…)
Largest Taxon –
Smallest Taxon –

Kingdom

Phylum

Class

Order

Family

Genus

Species
Method to Memorize
 King
 Philip
 Came
 Over
 From
 Great
 Spain
Most Broad Taxon = Kingdoms
 Every organism is placed into 5 large groupings known as KINGDOMS
 Organisms in the same Kingdom have ______________________________________________________
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All organisms are grouped into 5 Kingdoms but stull have differences!
Kingdom
All organisms in the animal kingdom are animals:
There are still differences among animals. You need to get more specific!
Phylum




Group similar animals together based on a common characteristic
In this case, all animals with backbones (notochord)
These animals will go into a smaller group, called a Phylum!
Not as many animals in Phylum!
Big to Small
Phyla are then divided into even more narrow, specific, groupings of
organisms called:





Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Species:


Organisms in a specific species are ______________________________________________________
Most specific/similar organisms
What’s going on in this picture?
From Kingdom to Species:
 Increase / decrease in number of organisms?
 Increase / decrease in similarity?
From Species to Kingdom:
 Increase / decrease in number of organisms?
 Increase / decrease in similarity?
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Humans Classified
 Kingdom – Animalia
 Phylum – Chordata
 Class – Mammalia
 Order – Primates
 Family – Hominidae
 Genus – Homo
 Species – sapiens
How do we write Scientific Names?
Carolus Linneaus came up with a scientific way to name organisms called binomial nomenclature
Binomial Nomenclature:
 Name of an organism uses _______________ and ___________________
 ___________________ is always ___________________________
 ___________________ is always ___________________________
 BOTH names ____________________________________________________
Humans Classified
What is the scientific name for Humans?
__________________________________________
Whales Classified
What is the scientific name for Killer Whales?
__________________________________________
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1. What is the scientific name for a wolf? How do you write it?
2. Are the fox and the wolf in the same genus? ( Yes / No )
3. Are the fox and the wolf in the same family? ( Yes / No )
4. Are the fox and the wolf in the same order? ( Yes / No )
5. Members of which taxon have the most characteristics in common? (most similar organisms)
Classification Tools
Dichotomous Key – an organized set of descriptions that describe different characteristics of organisms.
 Purpose – simplifies the identification of biological organisms
 How – compare the characteristics of an unknown organism to an appropriate dichotomous key
 The key will begin general and lead to pairs of descriptions that get more specific
 Follow the key, like a treasure hunt, and you will find the correct organism based in its features!
Dichotomous Key Practice
Bird W –
Bird X –
Bird Y –
Bird Z –
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Numeric key with couplets presented together. The major advantage of this method of presentation is that
both characteristics in a couple can be evaluated and compared very easily.
1a.
1b.
Bean round
Bean elliptical or oblong
Garbanzo bean
Go to 2
2a.
2b.
Bean white
Bean has dark pigments
White northern
Go to 3
3a.
3b.
Bean evenly pigmented
Bean pigmentation mottled
Go to 4
Pinto bean
4a.
4b.
Bean black
Bean reddish-brown
Black bean
Kidney bean
Bean W = ___________________________________
Bean X = ___________________________________
Bean Y = ___________________________________
Bean Z = ___________________________________
Tip – Using a Dichotomous Key
When completing a Dichotomous Key
1. If you have 2 organisms that are the same scientific name, then you made a mistake (unless you have 2
of the exact same organisms present… usually never the case)
2. Therefore, be very careful in your observations
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Do Now or Extra Note Space
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