Classification
of Living
Things
Introduction to Classification
How are things classified?
How do you know where to find an item at the grocery store?
If items were placed
just anywhere, it
would be very hard
to find the milk!
But you know that milk is
found in the Dairy section.
Similar items are placed
together so they are easier
to find.
Grouping Makes Things Easy!
 Living
things are
also placed in
groups to make
it easier to
study them and
their
relationship to
one another.
Classification Into Kingdoms

All living things can be placed into one of six major
categories called ‘Kingdoms’:

Animal (Animalia)

Plant (Plantae)

Fungi

Protist (Protista)

Eubacteria

Archeabacteria
Further Classification

Organisms can be further classified
based on other similarities, such as
structure and early development.
 Phylum
 Class
 Order
 Family
 Genus
 Species
Going down the list,
each category
contains organisms
that are more and
more alike!
Discovery Education

King Philip Came Over For Good Spaghetti
3 (things you learned)
2 (things you know or want to know)
1 (mnemonic device)
Classifying
K – Central Dauphin School District
P – Linglestown Middle School
C – 6th Grade
O – Lions Team
F – Lamb’s Science Class
G – Period # ___
S – Student’s name
Humans and Horses

You might not think humans and horses are much alike,
but:
Both
are animals
Both
have a backbone and four
limbs
Both
have hair and bear live
young
Both
feed their young milk
Humans and Horses


And, there are many differences.
See how we only share three categories with horses:
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Genus:
Species:
Humans
Horse
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Primate
Hominidae
Homo
H. sapiens
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Perissodactyla
Equidae
Equus
E. ferus
Canis familiaris


The system uses the
organism’s genus for
its first name, and its
species for its second
name.
For example, the
scientific name of dog
is Canis familiaris
Genus and species names are
of Latin origin and universal.
No matter the language or
country, Canis familiaris
would mean the organism
seen above!
Canis-Canine

Canis is a Latin term that refers to
dog-like, canine creatures.

Wolves, coyotes, jackals, dingos,
and dogs all belong to the genus
Canis.
Canis species

But wolves, coyotes, dogs, and
jackals are different enough that
they are considered separate
species.
REVIEW

Animals in the
same Genus share
many common
characteristics
and are closely
related

They are not
exactly the same
though, so they
are given a
separate species
name so that
scientists do not
get confused
Genus
species
Lamb
christine
share with others
specific just to me as an individual

Think of the Genus almost as a
person’s last name. People that are
related to each other have the same
last name…however not all family
members are the same. There are
individuals within the family.

Think of the species as an individual’s
first name. This name helps identify
the specific person within the family.
In a similar way, the species name lets
the scientist know exactly which
species in the genus they are talking
about.
Why do scientists use a standard
classification system?

1 official name for each animal
{prevents duplication
because all names must be approved by the international naming congresses}
Shows the relationship between animals
 It is easier to locate names/species
 Scientists can share information & collaborate
 Keeps it organized
 This system allows scientists to identify new
species
 Eliminates misnaming {ex: a star fish is not a fish}
 Easy to use system with clear rules for naming
 Latin – uses 1 common language
