10.1. CLASSIFICATION

Question 1

what is classification?

Answer 1

• process by which living organisms are sorted into groups
• organisms within each group share similar features

Question 2

what are taxonomic groups?

Answer 2

• seven groups ordered into a hierarchy
  includes: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species

Question 3

what is a recently added further level of classification (above kingdom)?

Answer 3

domain

Question 4

do scientists classify organisms?

Answer 4

• to identify a species
• to predict characteristics
• to find evolutionary links (common ancestors)

Question 5

how are organisms classified?

Answer 5

• begin by separating into 3 domains: archaea, bacteria, and eukarya
• ends with classification into species - each group only contains one type of organism

Question 6

how is a species defined?

Answer 6

• group of organisms that are able to reproduce to produce fertile offspring
• i.e. donkey (fertile) + horse (fertile) = mule (infertile) > not a species

Question 7

why are mules not a species?

Answer 7

• cells contain an odd number of chromosomes (63)
• means that meiosis and gamete production cannot take place correctly as all chromosomes must pair up
• as horses have 64 chromosomes and donkeys have 62 chromosomes

Question 8

how must an organisms species and genus be displayed?

Answer 8

• genus = capital letter
• species = lowercase letter
  if typed, in italics
  if hand written, underlined

Question 9

what is the classification of humans?

Answer 9

Homo sapiens

Question 10

what is another word for species?

Answer 10

specific

Question 11

what is another word for genus?

Answer 11

generic

Question 12

what are common names?

Answer 12

• before classification systems were widely used, many organisms were given names according to certain physical characteristics, behaviour or habitat
• e.g. ‘blackbirds’ or ‘song thrushes’

Question 13

what system was created to ensure scientists all over the world are discussing the same organism?

Answer 13

• binomial nomenclature
• by Carl Linnaeus