Classification 2nd year topic 1

Question 1

Define biodiversity

Answer 1

The variety of life on earth. The total number of different species found in an ecosystem, and the resulting complexity of interactions between them.

Question 2

What is taxonomy?

Answer 2

There are millions of living organisms in the world. Scientists work to name and group all of these living organisms based upon the structural characteristics and evolutionary relationships.

Question 3

Define taxonomy

Answer 3

The science whereby living organisms are classified and placed into categories based on their structural characteristics and evolutionary relationships.

Question 4

What can we call a group or a category in taxonomy?

Answer 4

Taxon

Question 5

How are living organisms divided into these specific taxa?

Answer 5

Living organisms are grouped based on common characteristics. (similarities)

First living things are divided into 1 major group. Then this large main group is divided into smaller and smaller groups. The groups become smaller and smaller, however the organisms within that group become more similar to each other. (ACCORDING TO THE DEGREE OF SIMILARITY BETWEEN THEM)

Question 6

Name every single taxon.

Answer 6

Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species

Question 7

Which is the biggest and the smallest taxon?

Answer 7

Kingdom (largest)
Species (smallest)

Question 8

What does the Kingdom contain?

Answer 8

It contains a wide variety of organisms from a large blue whale to a mosquito

Question 9

What does the Species contain?

Answer 9

This is the last and smallest group. The members of this taxon are so similar that they can interbreed and produce fertile offspring

The quantity of organisims decreases as groups get smaller,and the levels of similarities between them increase

Question 10

True or false. + reason

Taxonomy is an inexact science.

Answer 10

True.

This is because sometimes there can be controversies when it comes to grouping organisms in the specific categories, especially when it comes to asexually reproducing organisms.

Question 11

What do we call each 7 groups of taxa?

Answer 11

Linnaean Classification

Question 12

True or false.

The number of organisms in each group decreases, the similarities between the group members increases.

Answer 12

True

Question 13

Define the term “Species”

Answer 13

A group of organisms that can interbreed naturally amongst themselves and produce fertile offspring.

Question 14

Name the 5 Kingdoms of Life.

Answer 14

Kingdom: Monera, Protoctista, Fungi, Animalia and Plantae.

Question 15

Why isn’t there a main Kingdom for viruses?

Answer 15

Because viruses are considered to be borderline between living and non-living organisms, since they do not perform the 7 vital functions. Viruses need a host cell in order to replicate.

Question 16

What does the Kingdom Monera consist of?

Answer 16

Bacteria which are unicellular organisms

Question 17

Are bacteria prokaryotic or eukaryotic?

Answer 17

Prokaryotic: no membrane bound organelles and no membrane bound nucleus

Question 18

How do bacteria replicate?

Answer 18

(Asexual reproduction) By binary fission. Bacteria simply split into 2 and produce 2 daughter cells.

Sometimes bacteria can also reproduce by budding or fragmentation

Question 19

What is conjugation?

Answer 19

When bacteria exchange genetic information wit each other

Question 20

Do bacteria mutate often?

Answer 20

Yes, this causes them to adapt much ore quicker to their enviorment.And this is why bacteria become resistant to antiobiotics,and new antibiotics need to be produced.

Question 21

How do bacteria carry out respiration/obtain energy?

Answer 21

(Obligate aerobes)Aerobic respiration: they obtain oxygen from the environment by diffusion (carried out in the cytoplasm)

(Obligate anaerobes) : there are some bacteria which oxygen for them is toxic. They will die when exposed to oxygen
. In this case anaerobic respiration occurs.

Facultative anaerobes: they perform anaerobic respiration when oxygen is absent but perform aerobic respiration when oxygen is present

Question 22

Differentiate between parasitic and saprophytic bacteria.

Answer 22

Parasitic: bacteria which cause disease.

Saprophytic: feed on dead decaying organic matter

There are also symbiotic bacteria preset

Question 23

Differentiate between autotropic and heterotrophic bacteria

Answer 23

Autotrophic: bacteria which are photosynthetic (can carry out photosynthesis)

Heterotopic: they live off other living organisms

Question 24

Give examples where bacteria can be harmful and where it can be beneficial.

Answer 24

Harmful: causes illnesses.

Beneficial: in the making of yogurt or cheese. or to make medicines and fight disease like antibiotics.

Question 25

Give examples of a harmful bacterium and a beneficial bacterium.

Answer 25

Harmful: Streptococcus : causes sore throats

Beneficial: E.coli : normally found in the human colon : aids in digestion

Question 26

What is the bacterial cell wall made up of?

Answer 26

Peptidoglycan

Question 27

True or false.

Bacteria do not have any ribosomes.

Answer 27

False.

They do

Question 28

What does the Kingdom Protoctista consist of ?

Answer 28

Consists of unicellular, multicellular or colonial organism which lack the distinctive characteristics of animals, plants or fungi. They lack complex organ systems

Question 29

Are protists eukaryotic or prokaryotic?

Answer 29

Eukaryotic

Question 30

What is the difference between plant-like and animal-like protists?

Answer 30

Plant-like: They perform photosynthesis; (they can act as autotrophs)

Animal-like: they can move around and act like animals

Question 31

Give examples of plant-like and animal-like protists.

Answer 31

Plant-like: brown or green algae: or euglena

Animal-like: amoeba or paramecium

An amoeba is an unicellular and irregularly shaped organism

Question 32

Name the phylum to which plant-like and animal-like protists belong to.

Answer 32

Plant-like: protophyta

Animal-like:protozoa

Question 33

Where can we find these types of organisms?

Answer 33

Usually in aquatic environments and some can also be parasitic protists too

Question 34

True or false.

Some ancestor’s of today’s protists gave rise to animals,plants and fungi.

Answer 34

True

Protists are the base of eukaryote evolution

Question 35

What structures does an amoeba contain?

Answer 35

Cytoplasm: (endoplasm and ectoplasm)
,contractile vacuole,
nucleus,
cell membrane
pseudopods
food vacuole

Question 36

What is the purpose of the contractile vacuole:

Answer 36

An osmoregulatory organelle which controls the intracellular water balance by accumulating and expelling excess water out of the cell to survive

Question 37

How does the amoeba move?

Answer 37

By changing the shape of its body by its pseudopodia

Question 38

Why is the pseudopodia present in the amoeba?

Answer 38

Because the amoeba has 2 types of cytoplasm: the ectoplasm and the endoplasm which forms the “false feet”