1. Classification of Organisms
Copyright PEER.tamu.edu

2. Here are some things that scientists classify or organize:
The elements
The human body
Interactions in Ecosystems

3. Scientists also Classify Living Organisms
Cats, dogs, mammals, pets, friends………
How could you classify these living things?

4. Quick, organize these living things into groups:

5. Did you do it like this? These are grouped by color:
Blue, red or red and blue

6. Are there any other ways to group these living things?
Or this?
These are grouped by type of organisms: Fish, butterfly or bird
This is probably a more meaningful way to group these for scientific purposes than the previous slide’s grouping by color.
Are there any other ways to group these living things?

7. Why Classify?
Classification makes it easier to answer questions about living things such as
How many known species are there?
What are the defining characteristics of each species?
What are the relationships between these species?

8. Classification History
Aristotle – (4th century B.C./Greek) the first person to organize things scientifically.
Linnaeus – (18th century/Swedish) Carolus Linnaeus is the father of taxonomy. He grouped things according to their shared characteristics like shape and structure.
Science is dynamic (changing). As we make new discoveries, our groupings of organisms sometimes change.

9. Levels of Classification
Taxonomy
The science of describing, classifying, and naming living things
Levels of Classification
Kingdom (largest, most general)
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species (only one kind of organism)
King
Phillip
Came
Over
For
Great
Spaghetti

11. Binomial Nomenclature (two names)
What is a puma vs. a mountain
lion vs. a cougar?
Common name: can vary in different
areas
Scientific names are in Latin or Greek
so that all scientists use the same name
Linnaeus simplified the naming process with two parts; genus and species.
Genus is always capitalized, species is lower case
You can abbreviate the genus, but not the species
Genus and species are in italics or underlined
Felis concolor

12. What is in a name? Jonesium sarius Genus name Species name
To make your fake scientific name:
Sara Jones
Jones Sara
Jones sara
Latinize your name
Latin endings ae us
ius um
ium
Jonesium sarius
Genus name Species name

13. Real Scientific Names Felis domesticus Tyrannosaurus rex
Canis familiaris
Homo sapien
Panthera onca
house cat
T. rex
dog
human
jaugar

14. Important Terms Prokaryote – having no nucleus
Eukaryote – having a nucleus
Unicellular – made up of one single cell
Multicellular – made up of more than one cell
Autotroph – producers
Heterotroph – consumers
Sexual Reproduction - 2 parent cells
Asexual Reproduction —1 parent cell

15. Classification Domains
Archaea
There are three Domains of living organisms based on their characteristics:
Archaea (also called Archaebacteria)
Eubacteria (also called Bacteria)
Eukaryota (also called Eukarya)
Eubacteria
Eukaryota

16. “Archaea” means “ancient” bacteria. Organisms in Archaea are:
Domain Archaea
“Archaea” means “ancient” bacteria.
Organisms in Archaea are:
Unicellular
Prokaryotic
Autotrophic or heterotrophic
Reproduce asexually
Aerial view of hot spring at Yellowstone

17. Domain Archaea Bacteria that have adapted to extreme environments.
Some can survive in extremely hot environments, like around hot springs and geysers. They are called thermophiles.
Some can survive in extremely salty environments, like The Great Salt Lake in Utah. They are called halophiles.
The Domain Archaea has one Kingdom, also called Archaea.

18. This hot spring is flowing into the Firehole River in Yellowstone
This hot spring is flowing into the Firehole River in Yellowstone. The colors are caused by different varieties of archaebacteria and other microscopic life forms. Scientists can distinguish temperatures of water by the colors present.

19. Domain Eubacteria “Eu” means “true” bacteria. They are: Unicellular
Prokaryotic
Autotrophic or heterotrophic
reproduce asexually
most abundant organisms on earth. One bacterium can give rise to 10 million in 24 hours.
Found in almost every habitat on earth.
The Domain Eubacteria has one Kingdom, also called Eubacteria.
Many are common infectious agents.

20. This is a picture of bacteria on the skin
This is a picture of bacteria on the skin. Bacteria can be shaped like a sphere (cocci) like this picture, like a rod, or like a spiral. The structure in the middle of this picture is a hair follicle with a hair growing out of it.

21. Domain Eukaryota (Eukarya)
Eukaryotic
Very diverse
Unicellular or multicellular
Autotrophic or heterotrophic
Reproduce sexually or asexually
Can be split into 4 Kingdoms-
Protista
Fungi
Plantae
Animalia

22. D O M A I N S K I N G D O M S

23. The 4 Kingdoms in Eukaryota
Protista
Mostly unicellular and microscopic
Autotrophic or heterotrophic
Can be infectious agents
Examples:
Amoeba
Algae
Daphnia
Plasmodium (causes malaria)
Plantae
Multicellular green plants
Autotrophic through photosynthesis
Have a cell wall
Mosses
Ferns
Trees
Flowering Plants
Fungi
Multicellular
Heterotrophic
Decomposers
Mushrooms
Athlete’s foot
Bread Mold
Animalia
Multicellular Animals
No Cell Wall
Insects
Spiders
Crabs
Birds
Humans

24. Dichotomous Key A guide to identifying organisms
It is based on statements/questions that will be answered with one of two responses. These responses lead you to other statements until you reach the identity of the organism.

25. I’m Talkin Bout (poems)
I’m talkin bout mold
I’m talkin bout spore producing, eating old bread, eukaryotic
I’m talkin bout Fungi
Protista
Archaebacteria Eubacteria Protista
I’m talkin bout protista
I’m talkin bout single celled, food makin, eukaryotic
I’m talkin bout algae
On other side you should see:
Fungi Plantae Animalia

26. I’m Talkin Bout (poems)
Arch Eubac Prot
I’m Talkin Bout (poems)
I’m talkin bout name of kingdom
I’m talkin bout 3 descriptions of kingdom
I’m talkin bout one example
Example:
I’m talkin bout Archaebacteria
I’m talkin bout heat lovers, salt lovers, extremophiles
I’m talkin bout blue-green bacteria