Classification of Life

EQ: How do We Classify Living Things?

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Reorder the following from most broad to most specific

• Domain

• Kingdom

• Phylum

• Class

• Order

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• Class

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• Family

• Genus

• Species

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Scientists compare the physical, chemical, and genetic traits of all living things to organize them.

Why do we do this? To keep them organized, and so that we can follow trends throughout evolutionary time. It's how we know that birds came from dinosaurs, and whales came from a goat/deer like creature.

Question: How/Why do we classify life?

How can we remember this system?

Come up with a pneumonic or Memory Tool!

Dumb ------- Dear ------------------- Dear
King ---------- Karla's --------------- Katie
Phillip ------- Pizza ----------------- Please
Came ------- Center --------------- Come
Over --------- Over ------------------ Over

From -------- Filled ----------------- For
Germany -- Grandma's -------- Great
Swimming -Sandwich --------- Snacks

Archaea are single celled protists (no nucleus or membrane bound organelles). They used to be called Extremophiles because they live in EXTREME places (inside hotsprings, inside cold-seeps, on the edge of hydrothermal vents) where no other kinds of life can really exist.

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Bacteria are protists (no nucleus or membrane bound organelles). We know what bacteria are.

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Eukaryotes DO have nuclei and membrane bound organelles. Eukaryotic cells MAKE UP YOU, and the plants/animals YOU love.

Question: What are the 3 Domains?

Multiple Choice

Which Domain do humans exist in?

• Bacteria

• Eukarya

• Archaea

There are FOUR kingdoms that make up Eukarya: Fungi, Plantae, Animalia, and Protista.

Fungi are funguses. No, mushrooms are NOT plants. They cannot perform photosynthesis or make their own food (they are heterotrophs).

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Animalia speaks for itself. It's made of animals; just like how Plantae is made of plants.

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Protists are single-celled eukaryotic organisms, or multicellular eukaryotic organisms. They can be autotrophic or heterotrophic. Kelp is an autotrophic protist.

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Question: What are the Kingdoms?

Multiple Choice

A scientist finds an organism that cannot move. It has many cells, produces spores, and gets food from its environment. Which kingdom does it likely belong to?

• Animalia

• Plantae

• Fungi

• Protista

The further we go down the Linnean Classification system, the MORE classifications there are because organisms get more and more closely related. In Kingdom Animalia alone, there are 9 Phyla. YOU DO NOT NEED TO KNOW ALL OF THEM!

The main one we will be following along with is Chordata (ours). Chordata is the ONLY Phylum where animals have a backbone/central nervous system/spinal chord.

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Question: What are Phyla?

​Classes contain organisms that are more closely related than those that JUST share a Phylum.

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Example: Snakes and Bears both are members of the Phylum Chordata, but Bears and Cats are both members of the Class Mammalia, and Snakes and Lizards are both members of the Class Squamata.

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Similarly, organisms that share an Order are more closely related than those that just share a Class.

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Example: Bears and Monkeys are both in the Class Mammalia. But, where Bears and Wolves are both in the Order Carnivora, Monkeys and Gorillas are both in the Order Primates.

Question: What are Class and Order?

​Genuses contain organisms that are more closely related than those that JUST share an Order.

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Example: Bears and Wolves both are members of the Order Carnivora, but Black Bears and Polar Bears are both members of the Genus Ursus, and Wolves and Doga are both members of the Genus Canis.

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Species is the ACTUAL ANIMAL you are talking about.
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Example: Black Bears are Ursus americanus.
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Scientists HAVE to italicize or underline the genus and species names, and the Genus is ALWAYS capitalized.

Question: What are Genus and Species?

Multiple Choice

What are the two parts of a scientific name?

• Domain and Genus

• Domain and Kingdom

• Phylum and Class

• Genus and Species

Multiple Choice

Pick the BEST answer: Organisms that are not closely related to each other will likely share a...

• Class

• Order

• Phylum

• Genus

Multiple Choice

Pick the BEST answer: Which level do cats and dogs most likely share?

• Species

• Order

• Phylum

• Genus

Reorder

Reorder the following from most broad to most specific

• Domain

• Kingdom

• Phylum

• Class

• Order

1

2

3

4

5

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Reorder

Reorder the following from most broad to most specific

• Class

• Order

• Family

• Genus

• Species

1

2

3

4

5

• 1
• 2
• 3
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• 5

SUMMARY: How does the Pyramid shape relate to the Linnean Classification System?