CLASSIFICATION
OF
LIVING THINGS
1
WARM UP (15 minutes)
Line up around the room. You need to place
yourself in order of your birthdays, but
you cannot speak to one another.
- Class is organized into groups according to
birthday. How else could the class have
been divided into groups?
- Why might you want to group or classify
objects?
2
Who Needs a
Classification System?
How is your life organized?
When you go to the grocery store, how
do know how to find the milk?
When you go to the clothing store, how
do you know where to look for your
favorite brand?
3
Why do Scientists Classify?
Did you know that there are
almost 2 million kinds of
organisms on Earth?
How could we possibly keep them
all straight or study them
without some form of
organization?
4
CLASSIFICATION
What is does the word
classification mean?
Classification means the act of grouping
living things by using a set of rules and
similarities.
The “SCIENCE” of classification is called
taxonomy. Taxonomy is the field of
biology that study how living things are
5
classified.
Who first developed
a system to classify organisms?
As early as 350 B.C., the Greek Philosopher
Aristotle created guidelines for grouping
living things. Aristotle grouped organisms
based on four characteristics:
•Body parts
•Life histories
•Activities
•Character
6
The Modern Classification System
The modern classification system was
developed by the Swedish scientist, Carolus
Linnaeus, in the mid 1700’s. His system was
based upon classifying organisms according to
the organism’s physical and structural
similarities. Some characteristics
he used to classify organisms were outside
appearance, internal organs, and how body
systems worked. Modern scientists are still
using most of Linnaeus’s classification system.
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Linneaus’ System of
Scientific Names
Binomial Nomenclature is a two word classification naming system
developed by Linneaus.
Each species of a living thing is given a DOUBLE NAME
EX:
Just like your first and last name
First Name (Genus)
Tells which group of similar species the living thing belongs to. Genus
is ALWAYS capitalized.
Second Name (Species)
Tells the name of the one particular species in that genus. Species is
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NEVER capitalized.
How Living Things Are
Classified?
Organisms are ranked in a “Taxa” according
to their characteristics.
Taxa is a further broken-down level of
classification found within each kingdom
according to similarities. The broader the
Taxa the more general its characteristics
& the more species it contains.
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How Are Living Things Classified?
•There are 7 levels in
the classification
system of organisms
Broadest Level
•As one goes from the
Kingdom to the Species
(DOWNWARD)…An
increase in the
similarity between
organisms occur
•There are fewer
numbers of different
kinds of organisms
Most Specific
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How Are Living Things Classified?
Kingdom: The highest level
Phylum: A subdivision of a kingdom
Class: Each phylum is divided into classes
Order: Each class is divided into orders
Family: Each order is divided into families
Genus: Each family is divided into genera
Species: Lowest level (represents a single type
of organism)
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CLASSIFICATION OF CARS
CLASSIFICATION
KINGDOM
PHYLUM
CLASS
ORDER
FAMILY
GENUS
SPECIES
CAR 1
Mechanical Transportation
Automobile
SUV
Ford
Explorer
Eddie Bauer
All Wheel Drive
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How Are Living Things Classified?
Homework: Write an original catch phrase for the
categories of classification so that each word in the phrase
begins with the letter of the category in their correct order
from largest to smallest
Example: Kids Play Cards On Fat Green Stools
Phyllum
Kingdom
Order
Class
Species
Family
Genus
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The Classification Game!!
In the following few slides, you will find
14 different organisms, each of them
labeled with a letter. In your groups,
write down two main classification
(example red/green). Then place the
corresponding letters under
the correct classification.
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For Example
These organisms have been
classified by their color.
Green
Red
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ARE
YOU
READY
16
B
E
A
D
C
F
G
K
L
J
I
H
M
N
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One Possible Solution
Animals
Plants
C
D
A
G
I
J
M
????
B
K
E
N
F
L
H
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Did You Have Problems??
There were actually several different ways to go
about classifying these 14 organisms. You might
have done color, shape, size, number of legs… the
possibilities are endless. You might have
encountered one or two that really did not fit into
either of your two classifications, what should you
do when this happens? Make a new classification
of course! And this is what scientist have done as
well through the years.
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The 5 KINGDOMS of Classification
A Kingdom is the
largest group in the
Classification
system. It
encompasses all the
related species.
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The 5 KINGDOMS of Classification
In all, there are 5 Kingdoms of Life…
1.Monera
2.Protista
3.Fungi
4.Plantae
5.Animalia
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The 5 Kingdoms of Classification
The Kingdom, Monera
consists of all
Bacteria.
Examples of Bacteria
include:
Cyan bacteria,
Staphylococcus aureus
Escherichia coli.
This picture is of E. coli
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The 5 Kingdoms of Classification
The Kingdom, Protista
consists of simple
eukaryotes (multi-cellular
organisms).
Examples of Protista
include:
majority of molds such
as Saprolegnia (Water mold)
Dictyostelium diccoideum (Slime Mold).
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The 5 Kingdoms of Classification
The Kingdom, Fungi consists of fungus
& yeasts members. These break down
organic materials to obtain food.
Examples of different types of fungus
include:
Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Yeast)
Amanita muscaria (Fly Agaric).
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The 5 Kingdoms of Classification
The Kingdom, Plantae
houses all the plant
members.
Examples of plants
include:
Flowers
Corn
Moss
Ferns
Trees
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The 5 Kingdoms of Classification
The last Kingdom,
Animalia consists of
Humans and ALL
animals.
Examples of Animalia
include:
Insects
Mammals
Reptiles
Birds
Amphibians.
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Using the Classification System
Field guides help identify organisms.
-they highlight differences between
similar organisms (like trees)
Taxonomic Key / Dichotomous Key) is a
paired statements that describe the
physical characteristics of different
organisms
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Taxonomic Key
Norns belong to the genus Norno and can be divided into eight species that are
generally located in specific regions of the world. Use the dichotomos key to
identify the norns below.
A
1.
1’
Has pointed ears .................................... go to 3
Has rounded ears ....................................go to 22.
2
2’
Has no tail ............................................. Kentuckyus
Has tail .................................................. Dakotus
3
3’
Ears point upward .................................. go to 5
Ears point downward ............................. go to 4
4
4’
Engages in waving behavior .................. Dallus
Has hairy tufts on ears .........................Californius
5
5’
Engages in waving behavior .................. WalaWala
Does not engage in waving behavior.......go to 6
6
6’
Has hair on head ..................................... Beverlus
Has no hair on head (may have ear tufts) .......go to 7
7
7’
Has a tail ................................................. Yorkio
Has no tail, aggressive ............................ Rajus
D
G
B
C
E
F
H
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REVIEW
Classification means the act of grouping living things by using a set of
rules and similarities.
Taxonomy is the field of biology that study how living things are
classified.
The modern classification system was developed by Carolus Linnaeus.
His system is based upon classifying organisms according to physical
and structural similarities.
Binomial Nomenclature is a two word classification naming system.
Each species of a living this is give a double name. First name
(Genus) is ALWAYS capitalized. The second name (Species) is
NEVER capitalized.
Organisms are ranked in a “Taxa” according to their characteristics.
Taxa is a further broken-down level of classification found within
each kingdom according to similarities. The broader the Taxa the
more general its characteristics & the more species it contains.
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REVIEW (Cont’d)
Broadest Level
There are
7 levels
in the
classification
system
Most Specific
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REVIEW (Cont’d)
The 5 Kingdoms
Monera – all bacteria
Protista – all simple eukaryotes (multi-cellular
organisms, i.e. molds)
Fungi – all fungus and yeasts (i.e. mushrooms)
Plantae – all plants
Animalia – all animals, reptiles, insects, birds
Taxonomic Key / Dichotomous Key) is a paired
statements that describe the physical
characteristics of different organisms
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