Name____________________________________________________
Taxonomy
Period____
Shoe Classification Lab
Goal: Classification is the action or process of classifying something according to shared qualities or
characteristics. In this activity you will learn how to create a classification system and understand the reasons for
classification in science.
Pre-Lab:
1) Why do people classify things?
2) What are some items that you classify in your house?
Procedure:
1) Everyone in your group must remove a shoe and place it in a pile.
2) Your job is to divide the shoes into categories based on their characteristics. Some of the characteristics
you could look at are: left or right, laces or no laces, color, size, type, etc.
3) It may be easiest to start with a characteristic that could divide the whole group into two groups.
4) Then divide the first groups into 2-3 groups and so on.
5) You should continue until every shoe is uniquely classified.
6) On the blank back of this page, make diagram of how you divided out the shoes – an example has been
provided below.
Analysis:
1) Why is classification important?
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2) What were some of the common characteristics that you used to classify your shoes?
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3) Did you have any trouble classifying the shoes? Explain.
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4) Is there more than one way that you could have classified the shoes? Explain.
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5) 2 new very fashionable people joined your group at the last minute. Their shoes are pictured below. Do
they fit into your classification system? If so, where? If not, how could you change your system to fit
them in?
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Classifying Life

Taxonomy:

Organisms are classified according to _____________________________________________________.

________________________: A Swedish botanist who developed a two word naming system for all life.

______________________________: The two-word naming system for life that is still used today
o Bi:
o Nomen:

____________: The language that Linnaeus used in his classification system.
o It is a __________________ language.
Linnaeus’s System:
 K
 P
 C
 O
 F
 G
 S
Make a mnemonic device for remembering the different levels of biological taxonomy (KPCOFGS).
K______________________
Example:
P______________________
Kings
C______________________
Play
O______________________
Chess
On
F______________________
Fine
G______________________
Grained
S______________________
Sand
Naming Organisms
When referring to an organism, scientists use the ___________________________________________.
o The ______________ is always capitalized and the ______________is not.
o
Scientific names are always in ______________.

Ailuropoda melanoleuca = Panda Bear

Ursus americanus = Black Bear

___________________ = Grizzly Bear

All 3 are in the same ____________, but not the same ____________.
Organizing Life Practice I
The table below shows the complete classification of several species of animals. Use the table to answer the
questions that follow.
Organism
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
House Cat
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Carnivora
Felidae
Felis
F. domesticus
Red Fox
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Carnivora
Canidae
Vulpes
V. fulva
Dog
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Carnivora
Canidae
Canis
C. familiaris
Wolf
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Carnivora
Canidae
Canis
C. lupus
Gopher
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Rodentia
Geomyidae
Thomomys
T. bottae
Fly
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Muscidae
Musca
M. domestica
1) What kind of animal is Vulpes velox? How do you know?
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2) What is the complete classification of Vulpes velox?
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3) From the table, which two animals are most closely related? Explain.
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4) At what level does the relationship between gophers and house cats diverge?
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5) How does the table indicate that a dog is more closely related to a red fox than a house cat?
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Organizing Life Practice II
The table below shows the complete classification of three unnamed species of animals. Use the table to answer
the questions that follow.
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Animal A
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Primates
Pongidae
Pan
P. troglodytes
Animal B
Animalia
Chordata
Aves
Passeriformes
Fringilidae
Spizella
S. passerine
Animal C
Animalia
Chordata
Aves
Passeriformes
Fringilidae
Serinus
S. canarius
1) Comparing Animals A and B, how many taxa (levels of classification) are the same? ____________________
2) Comparing Animals A and C, how many taxa (levels of classification) are the same? ____________________
3) Comparing Animals A and C, how many taxa (levels of classification) are the same? ____________________
4) Which two animals (A and B, A and C, or B and C) are most alike in classification?
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5) Which two animals have more of the same traits? _____________________________________________
6) Which two animals have more of the same body parts? _________________________________________
7) Which two animals are most closely related? _________________________________________________
8) What is the scientific name of Animal A? _____________________________________________________
9) What does the first word of the scientific name represent? ______________________________________
10) What does the second word of the scientific name represent? ___________________________________
11) What is the reason for using scientific names?
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Dichotomous Key Lab
Background:
Knowing the similarities and differences in organisms can help not only to figure out their phylogeny
(evolutionary history), but also to help sort and identify them. Suppose you find a large colorful wildflower while
walking through the woods. Chances are the flower has already been named and classified, but how can you
learn its identity?
As an aid to help others identify unknown organisms, biologists have developed classification keys, called
dichotomous keys. The word dichotomous comes from the word dichotomy, meaning “two opposite parts or
categories.” A dichotomus classification key presents the user with two opposite statements about some trait or
characteristic of an organism. By choosing the statement that best describes the unknown organism, the user is
led to further pairs of statements. By going from one set of statements to another, the name of the organism or
its classification group is determined.
Goal: In this activity, you will use a dichotomous key to identify different species of salamanders shown below.
Part A: Using a Dichotomous Key
Use the dichotomous key for salamanders to identify each of the 11 salamanders, writing both their scientific
name and their common name. Remember to write the scientific name in the correct format!
Scientific Name
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Common Name
Part B: Constructing a Diagram
Use your data to construct a diagram for at least 5 of the salamander species listed above (just like the shoe lab).
You can use characteristics from the dichotomous key or think of characteristics on your own.
Conclusion Questions:
1) What do all salamanders have in common?
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2) What are some characteristics that can divide salamanders into groups?
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3) As you used the classification key to identify the salamanders, did you go from general to specific
characteristics or from specific to general characteristics?
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4) What two taxa (levels of classification) do the scientific names of the salamanders represent?
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Critical Thinking and Application Questions:
5) Do you think that there may be some closely related species of organisms that cannot be identified
with a classification key? Explain your answer.
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6) What types of problems would scientists have today if Carolus Linnaeus had not developed his
classification and naming system of organisms?
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