Get out your notebooks. In your notes section title today’s activity “Living Things and Classification Notes” DA: 11/05/2012

How do we know if something is ‘living’? All living things are characterised as being able to do seven things These are usually remembered by the mnemonic MRS NERG M R S N E R G Can you guess what these letters stand for?

The 7 characteristics of Living Things Movement – Animals move to find food and keep away from predators, plants move to face the light Reproduction – the ability to produce offspring to keep the species in existence Sensitivity – responding and reacting to the environment Nutrition – Animals need food for respiration, plants need minerals from the soil Excretion – Getting rid of waste Respiration – Turning food into energy Growth – Growing larger and stronger  becoming adult size

Classification of Living Things Everything that is living can be sorted into these 5 kingdoms Kingdom Moneran Protist Kingdom Fungi Kingdom Plant Kingdom Animal Kingdom

Kingdom Moneran Tiny, single-celled organisms Do not have a nucleus Most don’t make their own food. E.g. Bacteria

Protist Kingdom Single-celled organisms with a nucleus Live in damp places of water They are like Fungus, animals, and plants. Some contain Chloroplasts. Some make own food. Little “creatures” floating in a drop of pond water. E.g. amoeba

Fungi Kingdom Body is made up of a network of threads called hyphae Fungi Can’t get up and move, but can spread out. Can be anywhere. Don’t contain chloroplast. Have many cells. Ex. mold, mushrooms

Plant Kingdom Multicellular – made up of lots of cells Make their own food by photosynthesis Plants are food for animals. They contain chloroplast. Can’t move. Lots of examples: flowers and trees

Animal Kingdom Multicellular – made up of many specialised cells Cannot make own food Can be further classified into vertebrates and non- vertebrates then into classes such as amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals Move From Place To Place. Some eat meat, plants or both. Digest food.

Classification Continued We’ve talked about the 5 kingdoms, but is that the end of classification? No it isn’t. In fact, there are 7 ways scientist classify living things. This classification is called Taxonomy.

Classification Continued A good way to remember the order of these levels is to use a mnemonic. The 7 taxonomic levels are Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus and Species. King Philip Crossed Over For Gold and Silver Keep People Clear Of Falling Garden Spiders

Classification Continued 1.Kingdom: Highest rank, broken down into five or six. Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia. 2.Phylum: phyla can be thought of as grouping organisms based on general body plan and from common ancestors. There are many different Phyla ~ 100, however there isn’t a good count for Monera or Protista. May be more or less. Ex. Animalia Ex. Chordata (has a vertebrae)

Classification Continued 3.Class: includes mammalia, reptilia, insecta. 4.Order: More specific, 5.Family: Blood related. 6.Genus: Different evolutionary pathway. 7.Species: Actual type of organism. Ex. Mammalia Ex. Carnivora Ex. Canidae Ex. Canis Ex. Lupus

Classification Continued Scientific Classification is all well and good if you know the Latin names, but what happens when you have no clue what those are? Then you use a Dichotomous Key.

Dichotomous Keys Take a group of organisms and split them up using questions about physical characteristics with yes or no answers.

Dichotomous Keys Cont. 1.a. wings covered by an exoskeleton…………..go to step 2 b. wings not covered by an exoskeleton………go to step 3. Dragonfly Grasshopper Ladybug Housefly

Dichotomous Keys Cont. 2.a. Body has a round shape…………….ladybug b. Body has an elongated shape………grasshopper 3.a.wings point out from the side of the body.. dragonfly b. wings point to the posterior of the body…… housefly Dragonfly Grasshopper Ladybug Housefly

Dichotomous Keys Cont. Homework: Complete your dichotomous key of the mythical organisms. Due on Wednesday 10/14/2011