How Taxonomy Is Used to Categorize Organisms Based on Similarities and Differences

Organisms are classified today using the Linnaean system, and the following table shows the taxonomic classification of two marine organisms living along the Pacific Coast.

-Taxonomic classification is important to marine biologists because it provides a way to-

• prove that marine evolution occurs

• discover and name every marine organism on Earth

• designate Latin as the universal language of marine biology

• identify marine organisms and find evolutionary relationships between them

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

The gray squirrel, Eastern fox squirrel, and red squirrel are all different species of squirrels. Why is having a scientific name for each species of an organism important?

• To prevent existing named organisms from having their names changed as they become extinct

• To keep the classification system from being altered as new organisms are discovered

• To allow organisms to be placed in many classification levels at the same time

• To standardize the naming and organization of organisms to avoid confusion

Having a standard taxonomic system benefits the scientific community by allowing scientists from all over the world to do which of the following?

• Have a common system for the classification of locations containing fossils

• Use a similar system to classify the impact of removing species from ecosystems

• Have a common understanding in the classification of organisms

• Understand how other scientists classify predator–prey relationships

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Dogs (Canis familiaris) are most closely related genetically to which of the following organisms?

• African hunting dog (Lycaon pictus)

• Gray wolf (Canis lupus)

• Grizzy bear (Ursus arctos)

• Domestic cat (Felis catus)

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

What phylum do animals with backbones belong?

• Vertebrates

• Invertebrates

• Protostomes

• Deuterostomes

The most specific scientific name of an organism is based on its -

• phylum and genus

• kingdom and phylum

• kingdom and species

• genus and species

According to the dichotomous key above, which of the leaves shown above is from a pecan tree?

• I

• II

• III

• IV