Name _____KEY_______________________________
Study Sheet for CP Biology’s
Classification Test
The Scientific Naming of Organisms:
1. What is the definition of species?
A group of organisms that can interbreed and have fertile offspring
2. Scientists have learned that the ____common______________ names of organisms can be confusing, so
they decided to devise ____scientific______ names that would be universal—that is, names that are the
____same___ all over the world, no matter what _____country_____ a scientist is from.
3. The first scientist to develop a “world-wide scientifically accepted name” for every organism was
___Linnaeus______. ______Linneaus______ was also the person who developed the practice of giving
organisms two names, consisting of a genus name and a species name. Today, this practice of assigning
organisms two names is called _____binomial______ _____nomenclature________, and _latin___ is the
language used when giving the two names.
4. In the two-name system of naming organisms, which name is always written first? __genus__ Which
name is always written second? __species______ Which name is always capitalized? ___genus___
Which one begins with a lowercase letter? ___species_____
5. Which of the following is the correctly written scientific name of the human? (Circle the correct one.)
homo sapiens
homo Sapiens
homo sapiens
Homo sapiens
HOMO SAPIENS
6. The organism known scientifically as Canis familiaris is in what genus? ____Canis__________
7. The red wolf’s scientific name is Canis rufus. What is its species name? ____rufus________
The Classification of Organisms:
8. It soon became clear that some kind of classification system was needed to __organize______ all the living
organisms on Earth, so that _____familiar_______ (familiar / unfamiliar) organisms could be identified and
assigned scientific _names__ using binomial nomenclature.
9. Today, this science of classifying organisms is called ____taxonomy__________
When classifying organisms today, taxonomists try to place closely related organisms together in groups.
To do this accurately, the taxonomists attempt to determine the __evolutionary_______ relationships
between different organisms….For example: Because so much evidence suggests that today’s dogs and
wolves are closely related to each other, scientists believe they share the same _evolutionary________
history. Thus, they place them into the same genus (the genus Canis.)
10. In order to establish evolutionary relationships between organisms, taxonomists study several things. Among
the things studied are…1) __fossil____ evidence from ancient, extinct organisms;
2)
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______biochemical______evidence, such as the similarities between the amino acid sequences in common
proteins; 3) comparative _embryology/anatomy______ between the unborn offspring of organisms; and 4)
the similarities/differences between the _DNA___ sequences found in the chromosomes of organisms. (Note
that this last one is also considered a type of biochemical evidence.)
11. Because organisms of today are grouped according to their evolutionary history, this means that organisms in
the same group will share some common ancestors________.
12. Sometimes organisms in the same group are so similar in their characteristics, it is hard to tell one organism
from another. For this reason, scientists have developed a tool that allows them to determine which particular
organism they’re observing. This tool, which is called a ___Dichotomous______ __Key____ consists of a
list of paired statements, which—by using “If…”, and “Go to…” statements—allows the scientists to
determine which particular organism they’re currently studying.
Today’s Classification Method:
13. Today’s classification scheme includes 7 major “groups”, or taxa, that begin with the largest grouping, the
___Kingdom_______, and end with the smallest, the ___species_____.
14. Starting with Kingdom, list the correct order of taxa within today’s classification scheme (from largest to smallest):
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
15. Until recently, organisms were grouped into _5_ Kingdoms. But today, there are _6_ Kingdoms.
16. List the [old] five Kingdoms in the order of most simple to most complex and identify each Kingdom’s major
characteristics:
Kingdom
Nucleus?
Cell Wall?
(present / absent)
(present / absent)
Method of Nutrition?
Sample Organisms?
Most simple
1. Monera:
abs
pres
both
bacteria
2. Protist
pres
pres
both
amoeba
3. Fungi
pres
pres
heterotroph
mushroom
4. Plant
pres
pres
autotroph
grass
5. Animal
pres
abs
heterotroph
humans
Eubacteria
Archaebacteria
Most complex
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17. What is a prokaryote? An organism that ____is made up of cells that do not have a nucleus___________.
Which Kingdom(s) is/are composed ONLY of prokaryotes?
Monera: Archaebacteria and Eubacteria
18. What is a eukaryote? An organism that ____ is made up of cells that have a nucleus _______. Which
Kingdom(s) is/are composed ONLY of eukaryotes?
Protist, Fungi, Plants, Animals
19. Comparing/Contrasting the Kingdoms: For each characteristic listed below, identify the Kingdom(s) that have
the characteristic.
Eukaryote Fungi, Plants, Animals, Protists
Prokaryote Monera
Heterotroph Monera, Protist, Fungi, Animal
Autotroph
Plant, Protist
Unicellular (all or most) Monera, Protists
Multicellular (all or most) Animal, Plant, Fungi
Has a nucleus
Fungi, Plants, Animals, Protists
Does not have a nucleus Monera
Has chromosome(s) All kingdoms
Has chlorophyll
Plant, Protist
Has a cell wall
Fungi, Plant, Protist, Monera
Does not have a cell wall
Animal
Flowers are in this Kingdom
Plant
Sponges are in this Kingdom
Animal
Mildews are in this Kingdom Fungi
Amoeba and Euglena are in this Kingdom Protist
Worms are in this Kingdom Animal
Bacteria are in this Kingdom Monera
Oak trees are in this Kingdom
Plant
Mushrooms are in this Kingdom Fungi
Flies, mosquitoes and butterflies are in this Kingdom Animal
Grass is in this Kingdom Plant
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