Early vs. Modern Classification (17.1)
State Standard
SB3C. Examine the evolutionary basis of
modern classification systems.
Chapter 17
Organizing Life’s Diversity
17.1 The History of Classification
Classification
 Biologists use a system of
classification to organize
information about the diversity
of living things.
Chapter 17
Organizing Life’s Diversity
17.1 The History of Classification
Early Classification - Aristotle
 More than 2000 years ago,
Aristotle, a Greek
philosopher, developed the
first widely accepted
system of biological
classification.
 Lasted for many years,even
though it had major flaws.
 Aristotle classified organisms as either animals
or plants & believed they couldn’t change
Chapter 17
Organizing Life’s Diversity
17.1 The History of Classification
Early Classification – Aristotle cont’d
 Animals were classified according to the
presence or absence of “red blood.”
 Animals were further grouped according to
their habitats and morphology (physical
characteristics).
 Plants were classified by average size and
structure as trees, shrubs, or herbs.
Chapter 17
Organizing Life’s Diversity
17.1 The History of Classification
Early Taxonomy - Linnaeus
• “Father of Taxonomy”
•18th century Swedish naturalist
•Broadened Aristotle’s method into a scientific system.
Carolus Linnaeus
• Linnaeus’s
system of
naming organisms,
binomial nomenclature, is
still used today.
Chapter 17
Organizing Life’s Diversity
17.1 The History of Classification
Early Taxonomy – Linnaeus cont’d
 Linnaeus’s system of classification was the
first formal system of taxonomy.
Perching bird
Bird of prey
Wading bird
Chapter 17
Organizing Life’s Diversity
17.1 The History of Classification
Binomial Nomenclature
 Linnaeus’s method of naming organisms,
called binomial nomenclature, gives each
species a scientific name with two parts.
 The first part is the genus name, and the
second part is the specific epithet, or specific
name, that identifies the species.
Chapter 17
Organizing Life’s Diversity
17.1 The History of Classification
Binomial Nomenclature cont’d
 Biologists use
scientific names
for species
because common
names vary in
their use,
according to
languages &
dialects.
Ursus americanus
American black bear
Chapter 17
Organizing Life’s Diversity
17.1 The History of Classification
Rules of Binomial Nomenclature
 Capitalize the first letter of the genus, but the
rest of the genus as well as the species are
lowercase.
 In printed text, the name should be italicized.
 When handwriting, both parts of the name
should be underlined.
 After the stating the name once completely,
the genus name will be abbreviated to the first
letter in later appearances (e.g., C. cardinalis).
Chapter 17
Organizing Life’s Diversity
17.1 The History of Classification
Taxonomic Categories
 The taxonomic categories
used by scientists are part
of a nested-hierarchal
system.
 Each category is
contained within
another, and they
are arranged from broadest to most specific.
Chapter 17
Organizing Life’s Diversity
17.1 The History of Classification
Taxonomic Categories cont’d
 A genus contains related species.
 A family contains related genera.
 An order contains related families.
 A class contains related orders.
 A phylum or contains related classes.
 A kingdom contains related phyla.
 The domain is the broadest of all the taxa and
contains one or more kingdoms.
Chapter 17
Organizing Life’s Diversity
Chapter Diagnostic
Questions
What is the term for a named group of
organisms?
0%
B
A
0%
A
B
C
D
0%
0%
D
1.
2.
3.
4.
C
A. genus
B. family
C. phylum
D. taxon
Chapter 17
Organizing Life’s Diversity
17.1 Formative
Questions
Which was the first formal system of
organizing organisms according to a set
of criteria?
0%
B
A
0%
A
B
C
D
0%
0%
D
1.
2.
3.
4.
C
A. classification
B. nomenclature
C. systematics
D. taxonomy
Chapter 17
Organizing Life’s Diversity
17.1 Formative
Questions
Which of these is the highest level of
classification?
0%
0%
0%
D
A
B
C
D
C
A
0%
1.
2.
3.
4.
B
A. class
B. family
C. order
D. phylum
Chapter 17
Organizing Life’s Diversity
Standardized Test
Practice
Which pair of organisms is more closely
related?
1.
2.
3.
A
0%
0%
B
A. 1 and 2
B. 2 and 3
C. 1 and 3
A
B
C
0%
C
1. Quercus alba
2. Cornus alba
3. Quercus rubra