Classification of Living Things
ORDERING THE
LIVING WORLD
Expected learning
EL: TO FIND OUT WHAT
WE ALREADY KNOW
ABOUT WHAT MAKES
SOMETHING "ALIVE" AND
AN INTRODUCTION TO
CLASSIFICATION
Life ProcessesWh
What makes
something alive?
Can be remembered using ‘’MRS GREN’’
 Movement- the ability to move from one place to another
 Respiration – a chemical process that takes place in every living cell
 Sensitivity – the ability to respond to your environment
 Growth- becoming larger in size
 Reproduction – producing offspring
 Excretion – getting rid of waste products
 Nutrition – turning food into energy
Life ProcessesWh
What makes
something alive?
In addition to MRS GREN, living things are made of………..
CELLS
What is classification?
 Classification is the grouping of things according to
characteristics
 The science of classifying organisms is known as
taxonomy
Why do Scientists Classify?
Almost 2 million kinds of organisms on Earth
Need to keep organised! (Easier to study!)
Classification
= process of grouping things based on their
similarities
Class-ification Activity
 Fill in your worksheet with people who share
characteristics with you
 At the end, we will group people with similar
characteristics and try to come up with a grouping
system
Early classification systems
 Aristotle grouped animals according to the way they
moved
Aristotle’s System
 Aristotle grouped animals
according to the way they
moved
 For example, all animals that
traveled by air were thought to
have been related.
 That meant that birds, bees,
and bats were classified
together and thought to be
related!
Aristotle’s System
 As time passed, more species
were discovered & some did
not fit easily into Aristotle’s
system of classification.
 Therefore, it became a great
need for his system to be
replaced!
 Organisms are now classified
according to their
EVOLUTIONARY
RELATIONSHIPS
Eight classification groups of living things
 Domain
 Order
 Kingdom
 Family
 Phylum
 Genus
 Class
 Species
Distinguished Kings Play Cards On Fat Green
Stools
Domain Archaea (Prokaryotic Cells)
Domain Eubacteria (Prokaryotic Cells)
Domain Eukaryota (Eukaryotic cells)
Kingdom
A Kingdom
encompasses all
related species.
The 5 Kingdoms
Kingdom Protista
Amoeba Paramecium Giardia
Water
Mold
Euglena
Slime
Mold
Dinoflagella Green
Algae
Brown
Algae
Diatom
Kingdom Fungi
Kingdom Plantae
Bryophyte Pteridophyte
(Moss)
(Fern)
Pteridophyte
(Fern)
Coniferophytes
(Pine Trees)
Angiosperm
(Dicot)
Angiosperm
(Monocot)
Kingdom Animalia
Activity
 Come up with some criteria for classifying the
preserved specimens from “Kingdom Animalia”
 Record your results in a table
Reflection
WHAT DID YOU LEARN
ABOUT CLASSIFICATION
OR WHAT DID YOU
REMEMBER FROM
LEARNING ABOUT IT IN
THE PAST?
Expected learning
TO LEARN HOW TO
CLASSIFY AT KINGDOM
AND PHYLUM LEVEL,
WITH A FOCUS ON
ANIMALS
Phylum
 Phylum: is a Taxa or
“group” of similar classes.
 The kingdom Animalia
contains approximately 35
phyla; the kingdom
Plantae contains 12
divisions
 Some phyla contain sub-
phyla
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phylu
m#Animal_phyla
Class
 Class: A class is a group of similar “Orders.”
 For example: the feline Bobcats and lynxes belong
to Class Mammalia as they have fur, mammary
glands and give birth to live young.
Order
 Order: is a taxon or
“group” of similar
families.
 Feline Bobcats and
lynxes have similar
teeth arrangements
and are meat eaters,
belonging to the Order
Carnivora.
Family
 Family: is a group of
similar genera.
 For example: cats,
bobcats, lynxes & lions
all belong to the
family Felidae.
Genus
 A genus is a group of
similar species.
 For example: Cats
and wild cats belong
to the genus Felis
Species
 Species is a group of
organisms in a
population that can
interbreed and
produce fertile
offspring.
 E.g. cats belong to the
specie Felis catus
Activity
 Re-classify the preserved specimens from “Kingdom
Animalia” to the most specific category you can
 Record your results in a table
Reflection
HOW WELL HAD YOU CLASSIFIED
THE ANIMALS THE FIRST TIME?
HOW EASY DID YOU FIND RE CLASSIFYING THE ANIMALS AND
WHAT WERE THE MAIN FEATURES
YOU USED?
Expected learning
TO LEARN HOW TO
CLASSIFY KINGDOM
ANIMALIA FURTHER
Sub-phylum vertebrates
AMPHIBIAN
FISH
MAMMAL
BIRD
adapted from
http://gideon.k12.mo.us/teachers/jswilley/htdocs/Classi
REPTILE
Vertebrates
 Animals with backbones are called vertebrates.
 Vertebrates include many different kinds of
animals. They can be found just about everywhere
– in oceans, rivers, forests, mountains, and
deserts.
 Animals with backbones can be broken up into
smaller groups by characteristics.
adapted from
http://gideon.k12.mo.us/teachers/jswilley/htdocs/Classi
Activity
 Try to fill in as much of the vertebrate worksheet as
possible – you’ve got 5 mins before we go through it
on the powerpoint
Fish
 Largest group of vertebrates.
 They come in many sizes and shapes.
 Many fish are covered with scales that protects them.
 They have fins that help them to steer and balance in
the water.
 Their body temperatures vary in the water.
 They breathe through gills.
Amphibians
 Their body temperature varies with their




surroundings.
Amphibians hatch from eggs and they can live on
land as an adult.
Young amphibians breathe through gills like fish.
Adult amphibians breathe air from lungs.
Some have smooth moist skin.
Reptiles
 Reptiles can move at





various speeds.
They lay their eggs on land.
They have dry scaly skin.
They can include animals as
large as a crocodile.
Their body temperature
varies with their
environment.
They live in hot, dry deserts
and in warm, wet tropical
rain forests.
Birds
 Birds lay hard shelled eggs that hatch in their nest.
 There are about 9,000 types of birds.
 Birds are vertebrates that have wings and they are
covered with feathers. No other animal has this
feature.
 The bird’s skeleton is very light in weight. This helps
them to fly.
 Birds range in size from as small as your finger or as
large as a human.
Mammals
 They include a wide range of animals: ape,




lions, kangaroos, bats, and etc.
Their young grows inside the mother.
Humans are mammals but they (animals)
have more hair than we do.
The hair keeps the animals warm.
They feed milk to their young.
Expected learning
TO FINALISE
INVERTEBRATE
CLASSIFICATION AND
TO LEARN ABOUT
BINOMIAL
CLASSIFICATION AND
DICHOTOMOUS KEYS
Sub-phylum Invertebrates
 Invertebrates are animals that do not have




backbones.
97 % of the animal kingdom is made up of
invertebrates.
Some can be found in ponds, oceans, and
other water environments.
Insects and some other invertebrates have
exoskeletons.
There are 6 groups of invertebrates
Porifera: Sponges
 They look like plants but they are animals.
 Sponges stay fixed in one place (sessile).
 Their bodies are full of holes and their skeleton is
made of spiky fibers.
 Water flows through the holes of their body which
enables them to catch food (filter feeders).
adapted from
http://gideon.k12.mo.us/teachers/jswilley/htdocs/Classi
Cnidarians: Corals, Hydras, and Jellyfish
 Corals look like plants but have soft tubelike bodies with a
single opening surrounded by armlike parts called
tentacles used to catch food
 Hydras move from place to place and use tentacles that
catch their food.
 Jellyfish catch shrimp, fish, and other animals in its
tentacles also.
Worms: Flatworms, Roundworms, and
Segmented worms
 Worms are tube-shaped
invertebrates which allows
them to be put into groups.
 They can be found in both
land and water
environments.
Platyhelminthes: Flatworms
 They have a head and a tail, and flattened
bodies.
Roundworm
 They have rounded bodies.
 They live in damp places and they can also live inside
humans and other animals.
Segmented worms
 The earthworm belongs to this
group of worms.
 Their bodies are divided in
segments, or sections.
 They prefer burrowing through
moist soil.
 This allows them to move easily
and it keeps them from drying out.
Echinoderms: Sea Stars, Sea cucumbers
and Sea Urchins
 A group of invertebrates that have tiny tube feet and body
parts arranged around a central area.
Molluscs
 A mollusc usually has a hard shell, a rough tongue, and a




muscular foot.
A snail is a mollusc with a single hard shell.
A clam has two shells joined together by a hinge.
Squids and octopuses are also molluscs
Their hard shells are small, but they are inside their
bodies.
Arthropods
adapted from
http://gideon.k12.mo.us/teachers/jswilley/htdocs/Classi
Arthropod Characteristics
 Arthropods are a group of invertebrates with
jointed legs and hard exoskeleton that protect the
arthropod.
 As it grows, it molts, or sheds its old exoskeleton.
 Then it grows a new exoskeleton that allows its
body to continue to grow.
 A lobster is an arthropod.
 The largest group of arthropods are insects.
adapted from
http://gideon.k12.mo.us/teachers/jswilley/htdocs/Classi
Arthropods: Insects, Spiders, and
Centipedes/Millipedes
 They are the only invertebrates that can fly.
 Insects have bodies divided into three parts, and
six legs.
 Spiders have jointed legs (eight legs), jaws and
fangs.
 Centipedes and millipedes are also arthropods.
 Centipedes uses its many legs to run from enemies.
 Millipedes roll up their bodies when they sense
danger approaching.
adapted from
http://gideon.k12.mo.us/teachers/jswilley/htdocs/Classi
Can you meet the challenge?
T. Trimpe 2009 http://sciencespot.net/
What clues can we use to remember the different
classification groups for invertebrates?
Activity Directions:
1 – Work with your partner to place
each “critter card” in its correct
location around the edges of the
classification mat.
2 – Write the names of the organisms
in the correct location on your “What
am I?” worksheet.
3 – When you are done, have your teacher
check your answers.
NOTE: There are three extra organisms listed
on the worksheet that are not on the critter
cards! Can you figure out where they go?
CHALLENGE RULES
1 – Shuffle the cards and place in ONE pile on the table.
2 – Start the timer and then pick up the cards and start sorting.
NOTE: If you are working with a partner, you cannot split the
cards into two piles until after you start the timer!
3 – Stop the timer when you are done. Have a teacher check your answers.
4 – If all your answers are correct AND you completed the task in 30
seconds or less, write your name on the board !
Linnaeus’s System
63
 Carolus Linnaeus, a Swedish
Botanist developed a
wonderful method of
classifying organisms
properly.
 His system was based upon
classifying organisms
according to organism's
physical and structural
similarities.
 For example, he might use
the similarities in flower parts
as a basis for classifying
flowering plants.
Binomial Nomenclature
 Developed by Linnaeus
 Two-name system
 Each organism has a genus and a species
name
 A genus (plural form = genera) consists of a
group of similar species. FIRST NAME
 The SECOND NAME, the descriptive word,
often times describe a characteristic of the
organism, immediately follows the genus
name.
Humans
 the scientific name of modern humans is Homo sapien.
 ****Note, the genus name always begins with a capital
letter, but the descriptive (second) name always begins
with a lower case letter. Both names are always italicized or
underlined. This is true ALL THE TIME!!!!
 Modern humans are in the genus, “Homo.” And one
characteristic of humans is that they are very bright, or
wise. The descriptive word “sapien” means wise. Both the
genus name & descriptive name is in Latin form.
D. Two Names For A Species
 Latin is the language of scientific names which is
still used today because the language is no longer
used in society for conversation. Therefore, it does
not change.
 Although a scientific name gives information about
the relationship of an organism & how it is
classified, many organisms have common names
just like you & your friends might have nicknames.
 Overall, Classifying organisms is a useful tool for
scientists as well as others who work in the
agriculture, forestry & medicine field.
Ursus americanus
American Black Bear
Dichotomous Keys
1a. Organism has 4 legs
Go to # 2
1b. Organism has more than 4 legs
Go to # 20
2a. Organism has a tail
Go to # 3
2b. Organism has no tail
Go to # 35
3a. Organism has stripes
Bengal Tiger
3b. Organism has no stripes
African Lion
Activity
 In pairs, complete activity 8.1, including questions 1-
5
Reflection
HOW EASY OR DIFFICULT
DID YOU FIND BINOMIAL
CLASSIFICATION?
Expected learning
TO USE BINOMIAL
CLASSIFICATION AND
DICHOTOMOUS KEYS,
WITH A FOCUS ON
PLANTS
Kingdom Plantae
Bryophyte Pteridophyte
(Moss)
(Fern)
Pteridophyte
(Fern)
Coniferophytes
(Pine Trees)
Angiosperm
; Dicot
Angiosperm;
Monocot
How are Plants Classified?
 There are more than 260,000
species of plants.
 They can be divided into two
groups:
Nonvascular
Vascular
Nonvascular plants
 Have no pipes to
transport water and
nutrients
 depend on diffusion
and osmosis to move
material from one part
of the plant to another
 have to be small: e.g.
mosses, liverworts
Vascular Plants
 Have tissues that deliver needed materials
throughout a plant - called vascular tissues.
 Can be almost any size.
 Are divided into gymnosperms (i.e. nonflowering) and angiosperms (i.e. flowering)
plants
Activity
 Complete activity 8.2 our in the school grounds
 You will be handing this in as a formal practical
report
Reflection
HOW EASY OR DIFFICULT DID
YOU FIND THIS ACTIVITY?
Expected learning
TO LEARN HOW TO WRITE
A PRAC REPORT USING
ACTIVITY 8.2
Practical report format
 You always need a title, your name and the date
 Abstract: A summary of your report (like a book blurb)
 Background: What was already known about your
subject/experiment before you carried out the investigation
 Aim: What you were trying to do (To……)
 Hypothesis: what you thought was going to happen (If…
then….)
Practical report format
 Materials: What you used
 Method: What you did in NUMBERED steps
 Results: Tables, graphs, drawings etc
 Discussion: What your results tell you (often by answering
questions, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of your
experiment
 Conclusion: What you found out and if your hypothesis was
supported (correct) or refuted (incorrect) AND WHY!!!!!
Reflection
HOW HAPPY ARE YOU
WITH YOUR FIRST PRAC
REPORT?
Expected learning
TO TEST OUR
KNOWLEDGE OF
CLSSIFICATION
Reflection
HOW HAPPY ARE YOU
WITH YOUR FIRST TEST?