Classification Why Classify Classification makes it easier to

Why Classify? Classification makes it easier to answer questions about living things such as

Taxonomy • The science of describing, classifying, and naming living things Levels of Classification

Classification History • Aristotle – (4 th century B. C. /Greek) the first person

Binomial Nomenclature (two names) • What is a puma vs. a mountain lion vs.

Scientific Names • • • Felis domesticus Tyrannosaurus rex Canis familiaris Homo sapien Panthera

Dichotomous Key • A guide to identifying organisms • It is based on statements/questions

1 A. Metal. . . . go to 2 1 B. Paper. . .

Important Terms Prokaryote – having no nucleus Eukaryote – having a nucleus Unicellular –

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Classification

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?

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

Classification History • Aristotle – (4 th century B. C. /Greek) the first person to organize things scientifically. • Linnaeus – (18 th 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.

Binomial Nomenclature (two names) • What is a puma vs. a mountain lion vs. Felis concolor a cougar? • 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

Scientific Names • • • Felis domesticus Tyrannosaurus rex Canis familiaris Homo sapien Panthera onca • • • house cat T. rex dog human jaguar

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.

1 A. Metal. . . . go to 2 1 B. Paper. . . . go to 5 2 A. Brown (copper). . . . penny 2 B. Silver. . . . go to 3 3 A. Smooth edge. . . . . nickel. 3 B. Ridges around the edge. . go to 4 4 A. Torch on back. . . . . dime 4 B. Eagle on back. . . . . quarter 5 A. Number 1 in the corners. . $1 bill 5 B. Number 2 in the corners. . $2 bill

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 – make their own food Heterotroph – get food from consuming something else