Classification of Life
Why do we classify things? Classification- putting things into groups based on characteristics the things share Helps scientists to: Define characteristics for a species Know when characteristics of a species evolved Understand the relationships between different species
Taxonomy- the science of describing, classifying, and naming organisms How would you classify these two organisms?
Taxonomy Carl Linnaeus- father of taxonomy, lived in the 1700s Taxa (Taxon, singular)- the main categories of the Linnaean system of classification Binomial Nomenclature- 2 name system of classification that includes the genus and species name; usually in Latin and written using italics Ex: Human- Homo sapiens Ex: Dog- Canis familiaris
Levels of the Linnaean System Domain Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species Study Tool: Did King Phillip Cry Out “For Goodness Sakes!”? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKwOlAqQoLk
Domains- not part of original Linnaean system 3 Domains- Archaea, Bacteria, Eukarya Archaea and Bacteria consist of prokaryotes- single celled organisms without a nucleus Eukarya consist of eukaryotic cells (have a nucleus) and could be unicellular or multicellular https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSuRoDGpKWw
Domain Archaea Archaea- made up of prokaryotes that live in extreme environments (very hot, very cold, high pressure, very acidic, etc.)
Domain Bacteria Bacteria- all bacteria that exist are in this domain Bacteria are found everywhere and some are harmful but some are helpful too.
Domain Eukarya Eukarya- contains eukaryotes- organisms that have membrane-bound organelles and a nucleus Domain Eukarya consists of kingdoms Protista, Plantae, Fungi and Animalia
Kingdoms of Eukarya Protista- are mostly single-celled, Ex: paramecium, amoeba, algae Fungi- some are unicellular and some are multicellular, Ex: mushrooms, molds, yeast Plantae- are multicellular with cell walls and make food using photosynthesis, Ex: trees, flowers Animalia- are complex, multicellular organisms that do not have cell walls, are able to move and have sense organs, Ex: mammals, birds, worms, sea sponges