The Diversity of Life Chapter 1.2 Classifying Life The Diversity of Life Chapter 1.2

My Planet Diary, pg. 14 What did Roxie Laybourne invent? A new way to identify birds from their feathers Why was her invention so important? By identifying the birds that caused the crashes, engineers could take steps to prevent birds from running into planes and causing accidents

Why do biologists classify organisms? Biologists use classification to organize organisms into groups so they’re easier to study.

Taxonomy -the scientific study of how organisms are classified Taxonomy is useful because once you know how an organism is classified, you automatically know a lot about that organism. Example: a crow is classified as a bird, so you know it has wings, feathers, a beak, hollow bones, etc… Look at page 15, Figure 1

How might you classify: a sunflower, a robin, a lizard, a blue jay, and a tree? -Sunflower and tree as plants -Robin, lizard and blue jay as animals -Robin and Blue jay as birds

Carolus Linnaeus Swedish botanist, 1730s Placed organisms in groups based on observable features Made a system for naming organisms (binomial nomenclature)

Binomial nomenclature a unique, two-word scientific name First word- genus Second word- species

genus A classification grouping that contains similar closely related organisms Example: -House cats and marbled cats both belong to the genus Felis -They share characteristics such as sharp, retractable claws and behaviors such as hunting other animals

species -A group of similar organisms that can mate with each other and produce offspring that can also mate and reproduce -Often describes a feature of the organism, where it lives or what it looks like

Binomial nomenclature Usually in Latin - Written in italics - Only the first letter of the first word (genus) is capitalized - Example: Homo sapien

Binomial nomenclature Makes it easy for scientists to communicate about an organism because everyone uses the same scientific name Look at Page 17, Figure 3

8 levels of classification (page 19) Domain Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species Do Kids Pick Candy Over Fancy Green Salads

The more classification levels two organisms share, the more characteristics they have in common and the more closely related they are.

Videos -Time for BrainPOP! “Classification” -Shake it Up-Classification Song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL3dxPdL8BE

Tools for identifying organisms: -Field guides – have descriptions and illustrations of organisms -Taxonomic keys- a series of paired statements that describe the various physical characteristics of different organisms

Field Guides Using the Flowers field guide: How many species of Monkeyflowers can be found in the U.S.? What family is it a part of? Using the Field Guide to North American Reptiles & Amphibians: What is the scientific name for the bullfrog? Using the Field Guide to North American Birds: What color eggs does the Cattle Egret lay?

Taxonomic / Dichotomous key

Group practice Silly Science

Independent Practice Genus: Norno

Independent Practice -Page 20, Figure 5 and Apply It!

Virtual lab Discovering Rainforest Organisms -PearsonRealize.com -Worksheet on Google Classroom