Cyber Ed® Student Study Guide Classification of Living Things CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things The following National Science Education Life Science Content Standards specifically relate to this study guide: CLASSIFICATION OF LIVING THINGS Taxonomic schemes and nomenclature help describe similarities and differences in form, distribution, behavior, survival, and origin of organisms. Existing classification schemes classify organisms at several taxonomic levels such as species, phylum, and kingdom. The dichotomous key is a tool for classification. The five (or six) kingdom classification consists of Monera (or Eubacteria and Archaeabacteria), Protista, Fungi, Plants and Animals. Each group contains its own structural and functional characteristics. Table of Contents The Development of a Classification System .................................................................. 2 Criteria for Classification ................................................................................................. 7 Classification Schemes ................................................................................................. 11 Taxonomic Keys ............................................................................................................ 23 Systematics ................................................................................................................... 25 Page 1 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things The Development of a Classification System The Development of a Classification System Now load the CyberEd Biology Course Title: Classification of Living Things. View scenes # 1 –12 and complete the exercise below. Multimedia Presentation A review of the importance of classifying organisms as well as historical contributions. Scenes 1 – 2 1. Use the following questions to consider the importance of biological classifications. 1a. In the bookstore example, how would you find a book without a title or classification scheme? How would your search change if you look for a specific book without a title, but in a classification system such as Dewey Decimal? You would have to search hit or miss until you find it or give up. To find an untitled book in a system such as Dewey Decimal, you can use the content of the book to find its approximate location and then begin a more detailed search. 1b. Why would it be important for people to be able to distinguish between these fruits or between these animals? It would be important for people to be able to distinguish between these fruits and animals because we can classify them with different physical and molecular structure to show evolutionary relationships. Scene 3 2. What were the two major classifications of Aristotle’s classification scheme? Animalia and Plantae 3. What were the criteria for Aristotle’s animal classification scheme? Aristotle based his classification on physical characteristics and behavior. Page 2 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things 4. Classify the following organisms based on Aristotle’s classification scheme. Include the major division, and, if appropriate, dwelling and social behavior. A. Animalia, grass plains, predator B. Plantae, ponds producer C. Animalia lakes predator D. Animalia grasslands herbivore E. Animalia, sky scavenger Scene 4 5. What is taxonomy? Taxonomy is the field of biology that classifies and names organisms. 6. What was the British naturalist John Ray’s, contribution to taxonomy? What organisms did he use for his studies? John Ray, studied the morphology of plants. He grouped plants according to similarities in their physical structure; this was the first time organisms were classified by their morphology. Scene 5 7. What were Linnaeus’ two major contributions to modern taxonomy? A. Developed the binomial nonmenclature system B. Prepared encyclopedia works on minerals plants and animals. 8. List the levels of the classification hierarchy, from most generic to most specific. A. Kingdom B. Phylum (Division in plants and fungi) C. Class D. Order E. Family F. Genus G. Species Page 3 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things Scene 6 9. Which level is most general? Describe the variety of organisms and their morphological similarities at this level versus a more specific level. Kingdom is the most general, because it includes an immense variety of organisms that are morphologically diverse, whereas the species’ level is very specific and includes only a few organisms that are morphologically similar to each other. 10. What is a species? A species carries many different meanings, but usually refers to a group of organisms that is genetically similar enough to interbreed and produce fertile offspring. Scenes 7 – 8 11. Identify the more general classification of the pairs listed in the table. Pairs General classification Insect Honey bee or insect Primates Humans or primates Fish Fish or salmon Bird Bird or eagle Mammal Polar bear or mammal Scene 9 12. What are the rules for writing binomial nomenclature, in other words, how do you recognize a scientific name in text? a. Capitalization: Genus is capitalized and the species are lower case. b. Text format: The specific epithet is always italicized Scene 10 13. There are several advantages to using scientific names. Name two advantages. Scientific names are written in Latin. Each species will have a unique scientific name recognizable anywhere in the world, regardless of any scientist’s national language or if the species has several different common names. Another advantage is that different species sharing a common name will be distinguishable from each other. Scene 11 14. What technical instrument’s development led to the addition of a new kingdom? What was the new kingdom? Who proposed the new kingdom? The invention of the microscope led to the identification of multicellular and unicellular organisms that didn’t fit into Aristotle’s plant or animal categories, so Ernst Haeckel proposed the third kingdom, Protoctista or Protista. Page 4 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things Scene 12 15. Who proposed the five-kingdom classification system? Fill in the table for the five kingdoms and give examples of types of organisms that can be found in each kingdom. R.H. Whittaker (further developed by Lynn Margulis) proposed the five-kingdom classification system in the 1960s. Examples of Types of Organisms Kingdoms Potential Answers: Vertebrates Animalia Invertebrates Potential Answers: Most photosynthetic organisms, plants Plantae Protista Potential Answers: Microscopic organisms, neither quite like plants or animals Monera Potential Answers: Bacteria Cyanobacteria Fungi Potential Answers: Mushrooms Yeasts 16. In taxonomy, what is a domain? An empire? A domain and an empire are the same, a taxonomic grouping more general than Kingdom Page 5 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things Linnaeus’ Contributions Please load the CyberEd Biology Course Title: Classification of Living Things. Complete Interactive Lessons # 5 and 6. Interactive Lesson You will review the hierarchical classification system and the rules of binomial nomenclature. Identify Kingdoms Please load the CyberEd Biology Course Title: Classification of Living Things. Complete Interactive Lesson # 3. Practice matching organisms to their proper kingdom. Interactive Lesson Quiz: Introduction and History of Classification Please take the quiz provided by your teacher. Quiz Page 6 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things Criteria for Classification Criteria for Classification Now load the CyberEd Biology Course Title: Classification of Living Things. View scenes # 13 - 21 and complete the exercise below. You will learn several approaches to taxonomy. Multimedia Presentation Scene 13 1. What were some of the early criteria for classification schemes? What technological developments have expanded the usable criteria? Observable characteristics such as morphology, behavior (food acquisition and reproduction) and habitat were early criteria for classifications schemes, while more recent technological developments in genetic analysis, light microscopy, and electron microscopy have improved criteria available for classification. Scene 14 2. Define phylogeny. Why is it a valuable classification scheme? Phylogeny is the study of the evolutionary relationships of organisms. It is valuable because it takes into account similarities to a common ancestor. Scenes 15 – 16 3. Before the theory of evolution gained support, what criteria did taxonomists use to group organisms? Taxonomists primarily used physical or morphological structures to classify organism. Page 7 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things Scene 17 4. Who was the first biologist to propose an evolutionary or phylogenetic tree? Ernst Haeckel 5. Using the following illustration of a phylogenetic tree with some labeled species to answer the questions about phylogenetic relationships. 5a. Species A is most closely related to which species? B 5b. Species H is most closely related to which species? I 5c. Assuming all the species along the top are modern species, what happened to species B and F? They went extinct. Scene 18 6. What are the taxonomic advantages of using the fossil record? What are the drawbacks? Fossils can help to establish the timing of the initial appearance of a species and to reconstruct a lineage of descent. The drawback to using fossils is that the record is often incomplete because the conditions under which fossils form are rare (e.g., soft tissues don’t usually fossilize, the substrate should be right to take the organism and fossils can be difficult to find). Scene 19 7. What is embryology? How might the study of embryology advance taxonomy? Embryology is the study of prenatal development of organisms. The embryos and fetuses of some organisms seem to display features of ancestral organisms; this connection between embryology and taxonomy is still being examined and may clarify the origins of some modern organisms. Scene 20 8. What is a molecular clock? How is it useful for measuring relationships of organisms? Changes in certain areas of DNA over time can be calculated and calibrated to a predictable rate of change, representing a period of time. By comparing the difference in those areas of DNA between modern organisms and ancestral organisms, a timeline of the split between modern and ancestral organisms can be determined. Page 8 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things Scene 21 9. Describe how DNA hybridization is useful for classification. How is it measured? DNA hybridization is useful for determining the level of similarity between DNA sequences of different organisms. It is measured by the degree of bonding between strands of DNA from two different species Scene 13 – 21 10. Fill in the table comparing classification studies. Identify the areas of phylogenetic study from the lesson, also identify their advantages and disadvantages. Area of Study Fossil Record Advantages Can provide physical characteristics Provide approximate date species appeared Help reconstruct lineage of descent Appear to display characteristics of ancestral organisms Embryology Genetic Analysis Morphology Good technique when organisms aren’t visually similar, but do share a common ancestor Not too much required, just detailed observation of physical structures Page 9 Disadvantages Gaps in the record fossilizing conditions were not always available soft tissue doesn’t fossilize finding fossils is difficult. Only works with organisms undergoing embryological development Still looking for significance in the connection between embryo and ancestral traits Must have access to DNA of ancestral organisms Doesn’t show the evolutionary relationship Some physical features can be misleading (homologous structures) © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things Criteria for Classification Please load the CyberEd Biology Course Title: Classification of Living Things. Complete Interactive Lesson # 2. Interactive Lesson You will review the various ways that traits can be assessed and used for taxonomy. Quiz: Criteria for Classification Please take the quiz provided by your teacher. Quiz Page 10 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things Classification Schemes Five-Kindom Classification Scheme Now load the CyberEd Biology Course Title: Classification of Living Things. View scenes # 22 - 32 and complete the exercise below. You will learn about the 5-kingdom classification scheme. Multimedia Presentation Scene 22 1. In the five-kingdom classification scheme, what are the two basic criteria for classification? Cellular organization and how the organisms obtain their nutrients. 2. Identify the five kingdoms. Animalia, Plantae, Monera, Fungi, Protista Scenes 24 –25 3. Fill in the table with characteristics of organisms in the Kingdom Monera. Kingdom: Monera Characteristics Cellular Organization (multi or unicellular?) Prokaryotic or Eukaryotic? Aerobic/Anaerobic? Shape? Groups within Monera*? Feeding behavior? Unicellular Prokaryotic Both Rod (bacillum), Round (Coccus), and spiral (spirillum) Eubacteria Cyanobacteria Heterotrophic Autotrophic (decomposer) *4. What is the third possible group within the Kingdom Monera? Archaebacteria or archaea Page 11 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things Scenes 25 – 26 5. Fill in the table for characteristics of Kingdom Protoctista or Protista. Kingdom: Protista or Protoctista Characteristics Group within Protista? Cellular Organization (uni- or multicellular)? Prokaryotic or Eukaryotic? Feeding behavior? Other features Algae Protozoa Water molds Slime molds Can be multicellular Usually unicellular Usually unicellular Usually unicellular Eukaryotic Eukaryotic Eukaryotic Eukaryotic Heterotrophic Autotroph (decomposer (photosynthetic) or parasitic) Potential Potential Answers: Answers: Plant-like Animal-like Contains cell Often found in walls water, moist soils, or other organisms Page 12 Heterotrophic (mostly parasitic) Potential Answers: Contains cell walls Composed of filaments Heterotrophic Potential Answers: Typically engulf prey Mobile during parts of life stage © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things Scenes 27 – 28 6. Fill in the table with general characteristics of Kingdom Fungi. Characteristics Kingdom: Fungi Cellular Organization (uni- or multicellular)? Multicellular, except for unicellular yeasts Prokaryotic or Eukaryotic? Eukaryotic Feeding behavior? Heterotrophic/Saprotrophic Cell wall material? Chitin Mobility? Non-motile, grow towards food source 7. Fill in the table for the four divisions of fungi. Divisions of Fungi Zygomycota Example Bread mold Type of reproduction? Both sexual and asexual Ascomycota Yeasts, morels, truffles Both sexual and asexual Page 13 Basidiomycot a Deuteromycot a Mushrooms Athlete’s foot Both sexual and asexual Asexual © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things Scenes 29 – 30 8. Fill in the table for characteristics of the Kingdom Plantae. Kingdom: Plantae Characteristics Cellular Organization (unior multicellular)? Multicellular Prokaryotic or Eukaryotic? Eukaryotic Feeding behavior? Autotrophic Cell wall material? Cellulose Mobility? Non-motile Specialized structures Roots Leaves Stems Functions of specialized structure Absorb water & nutrients from the soil Contain chloroplasts for photosynthesis Support for leaves and transport of materials Page 14 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things 9. What are the components of vascular tissue in plants? What are the components’ functions? Why is this a characteristic used in the classification of plants? Vascular tissue is composed of xylem and phloem. The xylem transports water and minerals from the roots to the leaves. The phloem transports nutrients throughout the plant. The presence or absence of a vascular system is used to distinguish between types of plants. 10. Fill in the table for the groups and classes of plants. Groups of Plants Non-vascular Plants Vascular Seedless Plants Vascular Seed Plants Divisio ns Not covered in this lesson Gymnosperm Angiosperm Class Monocot Dicot 11. What is the physical difference between the two types of vascular seed plants? Angiosperms have covered seeds while gymnosperms seeds are not covered. 12. What is the difference between a monocot (liliopsida) and a dicot (magnoliopsida)? When the seed first germinates, a monocot has one dicotyledon and a dicot has two dicotyledons. Page 15 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things Scenes 31 – 32 13. Fill in the table for common characteristics of the Kingdom Animalia. Characteristics Kingdom: Animalia Cellular organization (uni- or multicellular)? Multicellular Prokaryotic or eukaryotic? Eukaryotic Feeding behavior? Heterotrophic, usually digest in central cavity Mobility? Mobile, usually Reproduction? Sexual, usually Page 16 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things 13. Use the clues to fill in the tables for criteria of animal classifications. A. Classification criteria: Backbone / vertebrate Clue: 95% of all animals lack this trait. Vertebrate Invertebrate B. Classification Criteria: Segmentation Clue: Repeating units Vertebrate Invertebrate Page 17 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things C. Classification Criteria: Presence of coelom (tissue layers) Clue: Where do animals keep their internal organs? Absence of coelom Presence of coelom D. Classification Criteria: Symmetry Clue: Does the animal have distinct sides? Radial Bilateral Asymmetrical Page 18 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things Quiz: Five-Kingdom Classification Scheme Please take the quiz provided by your teacher. Quiz Six-Kingdom Classification Scheme Now load the CyberEd Biology Course Title: Classification of Living Things. View scenes # 33 - 36 and complete the exercise below. You will learn about an alternate classification scheme. Multimedia Presentation Scene 33 1. Define the following terms: Extremophiles: The ability to live in extreme conditions Thermophiles: The ability to live in extreme heat Halophiles: Ability to live in areas with extreme salt content Acidophiles: Ability to live in extreme acidity 2. What group of organisms is known to be extremophiles? Archaebacteria (archaea) Scene 34 3. What new kingdoms did Carl Woese propose in 1977? How would these new kingdoms change the existing five kingdoms? Carol Woese proposed two new kingdoms, Archaebacteria and Eubacteria. These kingdoms would replace the existing Monera that had lumped archaebacteria with true bacteria and cyanobacteria. 4. Carl Woese based his proposal on what experimental results? He found that ribosomal RNA of archaebacteria was more similar to eukaryotes (organisms of the other five kingdoms) than to the prokaryotes of the Kingdom Monera. Page 19 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things Scene 35 5. What are the similarities between archaea and bacteria? They are both unicellular prokaryotes. 6. a. b. c. d. e. What are five differences between archaea and bacteria? Peptidoglycan layer Archaea are usually extremophiles Ribosomal sequences Anaerobic atmosphere Autotrophic Scene 36 7. Describe Woese’s suggestion about the phylogenetic lineage of eukaryotes, archaea and eubacteria. Summarize why Woese suggested this scenario. Woese suggested that eubacteria ancestors split from archaea ancestors much earlier than archaea ancestors split from eukarya (eukaryotes) ancestors. Features of archaea are similar to both eubacteria and eukarya, while features of eubacteria and eukarya are less alike. Because of the similarities that archaea shares with both eubacteria and eukarya, it likely shares a common background with both. Quiz: Six-Kingdom Classification Scheme Please take the quiz provided by your teacher. Quiz Page 20 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things Three Domain Classification Scheme Now load the CyberEd Biology Course Title: Classification of Living Things. View scenes # 33 - 36 and complete the exercise below. Multimedia Presentation You will learn about an alternative classification scheme using three domains. Scene 37 1. Fill in the table for the three Domain proposal by Carl Woese. Archaea Kingdoms Euryarchaeota Crenarchaeota Domain (Empire) Eubacteria Kingdoms Bacteria Cyanobacteria Eukarya Kingdoms Protista Fungi Plantae Animalia 2. How are the kingdoms of the Domain Archaea classified? Does this criterion tell you anything about the groups’ evolutionary relationship? If so, what? If not, what value might it provide a biologist? The kingdoms of Archaea are classified by their environment (methane, heat, and salt). They are not classified according to their evolutionary relationship (although they could be). By classifying these organisms in this fashion we can predict certain characteristics about each based on their archaea nature and their habitat, useful in taxonomy. Scene 38 3. Because the Kingdom Protista contains such a wide variety of disparate organisms, other classification schemes have been proposed for the kingdom. Describe two such proposals. a. Cladistic analysis of a wide range of characters b. Molecular Variation Scientific Contributions to Taxonomy Please load the CyberEd Biology Course Title: Classification of Living Things. Complete Interactive Lesson # 1. Interactive Lesson You will review the taxonomic contributions of several historical and current scientists. Page 21 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things Archea and Bacteria Please load the CyberEd Biology Course Title: Classification of Living Things. Complete Interactive Lesson # 4. Interactive Lesson You will compare similarities and differences between archaea and bacteria. Page 22 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things Taxonomic Keys Taxonomic Keys Now load the CyberEd Biology Course Title: Classification of Living Things. View scenes # 39 - 40 and complete the exercise below. You will learn how to apply classification schemes to an organism. Multimedia Presentation Scene 39 – 40 1. What criteria are usually used in classifying an organism with a taxonomic key? Morphology, comparing physical structures, is usually used to classify unidentified organisms. 2. To what classification level can a specific taxonomic key descend? species Page 23 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things 3. Why is the following taxonomic key insufficient for determining whether these four animals belong to the same species? What would be a better key? These animals do not belong in the same species. In fact only three belong in the same genus (Ursus). The taxonomic key does not provide the detail to successfully classify these animals to the genus level, only to the mammal level. A better taxonomic key would be one specific and complete for Order Carnivores or even Class Mammals. Taxonomic Key Please load the CyberEd Biology Course Title: Classification of Living Things. Complete Interactive Lesson # 9. Practice using a taxonomic key. Interactive Lesson Page 24 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things Systematics Systematics Now load the CyberEd Biology Course Title: Classification of Living Things. View scenes # 41 - 48 and complete the exercise below. You will learn about three different schools of systematics. Multimedia Presentation Scene 41 1. What is Systematics? Systematics is the study of living organisms in terms of diversity and interrelationships at all levels. 2. Name three areas of study that are a part of Systematics. Taxonomy, Genetics, Ecology, Biochemistry 3. Name the three main schools of Systematics. The three main schools of Systematics are the traditional school, cladistics, and phenetics. Scene 42 4 What two criteria of classification does the traditional school of systematics stress? The traditional school of systematics stresses common ancestry and morphological or structural similarity. 5. In the following diagram, what is this structure called? What do the nodes represent? What is the difference between the nodes at the top of the tree and those on lower branches? The diagram is a phylogenetic tree. The nodes represent individual species. The nodes at the top of the tree are more recent species while nodes in the lower branches represent older, ancestral species. Page 25 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things Scene 44 6. Cladists base their classification of organisms on what single criterion? Cladists base their classification of organisms on common ancestry. 7. How do cladists determine ancestry? Cladists examine synapomorphies (shared derived characteristics), in other words unique characteristics shared by the common ancestor and all its descendents. Scene 45 8. What is the synapomorphy from the lesson for housecats and cougars? Retractable claws Scene 46 9. Define monophyletic group? What term do cladists use to mean the same thing? A monophyletic group, or clade, is a grouping of organisms according to synapomorphies of a common ancestor and its descendents. 10. In the graphic identify the following parts of the cladogram: synapomorphy, clade, and species. A. species B. clade C. synapomorphy 11. Using the graphic, explain what makes the organisms associated with A different from those associated with B. The synapomorphy at point C is shared by all the organisms in the clade, B, but not by organisms outside the clade, such as A. Page 26 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things Scene 48 12. What is the basis of classification used by pheneticists? Pheneticists classified organisms based on the overall number of shared characteristics. 13. How is phenetics different from cladistics and the traditional school of systematics? Phenetics does not take into account phylogenetic relationships. Scene 49 14. Give an argument in favor of using phenetics to classify organisms. Then counter that argument by explaining a disadvantage to using phenetics. An advantage to the use of phenetics to classify organisms is its objective nature. Phenetics only uses the number of shared characteristics to group organisms. Phylogenetic relationships may contain presumed relationships, thus are not taken into account. A disadvantage to phenetics is the varieties of ways that the data can be handled may affect the phenograms produced. Also, some characteristics may not be reliable unique identifiers of species and may influence the way relationships are determined. 15. Fill in the summary table for the three schools of Systematics. School Traditional school Cladistics (Numerical) Phenetics Criteria Morphology and common ancestors Common ancestor by synapomorphies Number of shared characteristics Page 27 Graphic representation Phylogenetic tree Cladogram Phenogram © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc. CyberEd® Student Study Guide: Classification of Living Things Systematics Please load the CyberEd Biology Course Title: Classification of Living Things. Complete Interactive Lesson # 7, 8, and 10. You will review three different methods of systematics classification. Interactive Lesson Quiz: Taxonomic Keys, Systematics, and Conclusion Please take the quiz provided by your teacher. Quiz Test: Classification of Living Things Comprehensive Exam Please take the test provided by your teacher. Test Page 28 © 2003 Cyber Ed, Inc.