Classification

Question 1

What is classification?

Answer 1

The way in which living organisms are divided into groups.

Question 2

What is taxonomy?

Answer 2

The scientific practice of grouping organisms based on shared characteristics.

Question 3

What does hierarchical mean?

Answer 3

• Smaller group within larger groups.
• No overlap between groups.

Question 4

What does phylogenetic mean?

Answer 4

-The system is based on the evolutionary history of organisms.
- The closer the branches, the closer the evolutionary relationship, therefore the more recently they shared a common ancestor.

Question 5

What are the 8 main taxonomic ranks and how are they ordered?

Answer 5

1. Domain
2. Kingdom
3. Phylum
4. Class
5. Order
6. Family
7. Genus
8. Species

They are ordered in descending order of size, domain being the largest and species being the smallest.

Question 6

What does non-overlapping mean?

Answer 6

Each organism can only appear in one group at a particular taxonomic level.

Question 7

How many domains and kingdoms are there and what are they?

Answer 7

3 domains:
1. Archaea
2. Bacteria
3. Eukaryotes

6 kingdoms:
1. Archaea
2. Bacteria
3. Protoctista
4. Fungi
5. Plants
6. Animals

Question 8

How is a biological name of a species formed?

Answer 8

It is derived from its genus and species names. This is a binomial naming system. The first name is the genus name and always has a capital letter. The second is the species name and always has a small letter.

Question 9

What is a species?

Answer 9

A group of organisms with similar characteristics that can interbreed to produce fertile offspring.

Question 10

What is the phylogenetic system?

Answer 10

• This shows the evolutionist relationship between organisms.
• It looks at similarities and differences in structure and function.
• The relationships are usually represented by a diagram called a phylogenetic tree.
• The oldest species are at the base of the tree and most recent ones are represented by the end of the tree.
• Each branch represents where divergence occurred.
• The closer the branches, the closer the evolutionary relationship, therefore the more recently they shared a common ancestor.