Classification of Living Things Five kingdoms: Monera (bacteria), Plants, Animals, Fungi and Protists

History of the Classification of Living Things It all began with OBSERVATION People began to notice similarities and differences among living things They started to organize living things into groups or categories based on certain characteristics Classification is important in all areas – Science – meteorologists classify types of storms – thunderstorm, hurricane, etc. Chemists – categorize elements in the periodic table English – words are classified as nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc. Math – numbers (odd/even) (shapes – circles, rectangles, triangles etc.) History –time period, geographically by groups of people

Classification – the grouping of living things according to similar characteristics You use classification in your everyday life Maybe your classify your clothing by season – jackets, heavy weight clothes, winter… short sleeve shirts, shorts, lightweight clothes, summer Or maybe by type – pants, sweaters, skirts, jackets Maybe by color – reds, blacks, blues, etc.

Let’s try to classify! Flower 1 Flower 3 Flower 2 Flower 4 You can only use OBSERVABLE characteristics. IF YOU CANT SEE IT YOU CANT USE IT!

Here is how I did it. Does the flower have more than five petals? YES NO

Flowers with more than five petals Does the flower have a yellow center? YES NO

Flowers with a yellow center Does the flower have wide, rounded petals? YES NO

Does the flower have more than five petals? YES Does the flower have a yellow center? Does the flower have wide, rounded petals? NO