WHAT EXACTLY IS TAXONOMY?

-Classification: putting things into orderly groups

based on similar characteristics

-Taxonomy: the science of describing, naming,

and classifying organisms

WHY DO WE CLASSIFY?

• Imagine trying to find something in Walmart if they didn’t classify

their products

• Grocery section…freezer section…ice cream aisle…Blue Bell…Rocky

Road

• Home supplies…pet products…cat aisle…canned cat food…Tuna

Friskies

• Imagine trying to find a specific photo saved on your computer if

there were no labeled files on it

WHY DO WE CLASSIFY ORGANISMS?

• Necessary for order

• Can make predictions from patterns

• Communicate clearly

• Have common understanding

HOW DO WE CLASSIFY?

• Physical similarities-

appearance and

behavior

• Genetic similarities-

DNA

THE HIERARCHY OF LIFE

-Each level is nested in a higher and more

general level

-Becomes more specific/similar as you move

toward species

DID KING PHILLIP C0ME OVER FOR GOOD

SPAGHETTI?

Make your own mnemonic device!

Kingdom

Phylum

Class

Order

Family

Genus

Species

*EXTRA CHALLENGE: include Domain at the top*

THE 6 KINGDOMS OF LIFE

Living things!

3 DOMAINS AND 6 KINGDOMS OF LIFE

• Archaea: prokaryotes (ancient bacteria)

• Bacteria: prokaryotes

• Eukarya: eukaryotes

•Plantae

•Animalia

•Protista

•Fungi

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING

Similarity at which of these levels indicates

the closest relationship?

a) Phylum

b) Family

c) Kingdom

d) Class

WHAT DO WE NEED TO

KNOW ABOUT A NEWLY

DISCOVERED ORGANISM IN

ORDER TO CLASSIFY IT?

CLASSIFYING

• Type of cell: Eukaryotic or prokaryotic?

• Body form: Unicellular or multicellular?

• Cell wall: Present or not present? What is it composed

of?

• Nutrition: Heterotrophic or autotrophic?

• Habitat: Land, water, or extreme environments?

CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFE

Complete the “6

Kingdoms of Life”

chart

KINGDOM CELL TYPE BODY FORM

CELL STRUCTURE

NUTRITION HABITAT DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS

EXAMPLES

ANIMALIA

EUKARYOTE MULTI-

CELLULAR NO CELL WALL

HETERO-TROPHIC

LAND/ WATER

MAMMALS, BIRDS, JELLY

FISH, MOSQUITOS

PLANTAE

EUKARYOTE MULTI-

CELLULAR CELL WALL

W/CELLULOSE AUTO-

TROPHIC LAND/ WATER

CACTUS, OAK TREE, ROSE

BUSH, VENUS FLY TRAP

FUNGI

EUKARYOTE

*MULTI-CELLULAR*/

UNI-CELLULAR

CELL WALL W/CHITIN

HETERO-TROPHIC

LAND

MUSHROOM, MOLD,

ATHLETES FOOT

PROTISTA

EUKARYOTE

*UNI-CELLULAR*

/MULTI-CELLULAR

NO CELL WALL OR CELL WALL W/CELLULOSE

HETERO-TROPHIC/

AUTO-TROPHIC

WATER/ LAND

AMEOBA, PARAMECIUM,

EUGLENA

EUBACTERIA

PROKARYOTE UNI-

CELLULAR

CELL WALL W/PEPTIDO-

GLYCAN

HETERO-TROPHIC/

AUTO-TROPHIC

EVERY- WHERE

“UBIQUITOUS”

SALMONELLA, E. coli,

STREP AND STAPH

ARCHAEBACTERIA

PROKARYOTE UNI-

CELLULAR

CELL WALL W/OUT PEP-TIDOGLYCAN

HETERO-TROPHIC/

AUTO-TROPHIC

EXTREME ENVIRON-

MENTS

THERMOPHILES HALOPHILES

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING

1. A group of scientists discovers a new organism. This

organism is a multicellular eukaryote, and it does NOT

possess a cell wall. This organism is:

a) An autotroph

b) A heterotroph

2. Which kingdom does this organism belong to?

a) Plantae

b) Protista

c) Bacteria

d) Animalia

THE HISTORY OF CLASSIFYING ORGANISMS

• Aristotle: grouped everything into simple groups such as plants

and animals

• Then grouped animals according to if they had blood or didn’t

have blood, then if they had live young or laid eggs, etc…

• Carolus Linnaeus: created a standard naming system

• Binomial nomenclature

WHY DO WE NEED A STANDARD NAMING

SYSTEM?

Are all of these

really bears?

WHY DO WE NEED A STANDARD NAMING

SYSTEM?

Which is most venomous?

A) water moccasin

B) black moccasin

C) cottonmouth

D) viper

WHY DO WE NEED A STANDARD NAMING

SYSTEM?

How many different species of bear are shown?

BINOMIAL NOMENCLATURE

-Common names used by people can be misleading,

confusing, and repetitive

-Scientists need a consistent naming protocol to

communicate effectively

-Binomial nomenclature

• Two name system

• Greek and Latin words

BINOMIAL NOMENCLATURE

-Dracorex hogwartsia: dinosaur

-Spongiforma squarepantsii: mushroom

-Euglossa bazinga: bee

-Agathidium vaderi: beetle

-Axima sidi: wasp

-Tinkerbella nana: fly

-L. baratheoni, L. lannisteri, L. targaryeni, and L. starki: wasps

BINOMIAL NOMENCLATURE

Heteropoda davidbowie: spider

Scaptia beyonceae: fly

Gnathia marleyi: parasitic isopod

Agra schwarzeneggeri: carabid

3 RULES OF BINOMIAL NOMENCLATURE

1.) The genus is always written first and

the species is written second

2.) The first letter of the genus is always

capitalized and the species is lower case

3.) Both genus and species are underlined

or italicized

WHAT IS THE SCIENTIFIC NAME FOR HUMANS?

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING

Which is the correctly written scientific name for

domestic cats?

a) Felis Domesticus

b) felis domesticus

c) Felis domesticus

d) kitty

CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING

Which pair of organisms is more closely

related?

a) Acer rubrum & Acer saccharum

b) Acer rubrum & Chenopodium rubrum

TAXONOMY

-How does naming organisms relate

to classifying organisms?

-How does taxonomy

(naming/classifying) relate to

phylogeny (evolutionary

relationships)?

Scientists originally grouped organisms just

based on the physical similarities that they

could see.

How well do you think physical traits

demonstrate relatedness of different species?

PHYLOGENY

The study of evolutionary relationships

ORGANIZING CANDY

ORGANIZING ORGANISMS

DICHOTOMOUS KEY

Guide to identifying organisms

CLASSIFICATION IS ALWAYS CHANGING

-As technology develops

-As we discover new species

-As we learn more about organisms and

their genetics