1. Classification of organisms is important to help organize the millions of species that have been discovered. Aristotle was the first to classify organisms into two kingdoms but his system had flaws. 2. Carolus Linnaeus improved on Aristotle's system by using physical traits and introduced binomial nomenclature, the scientific naming convention still used today. 3. There are currently six kingdoms used to classify organisms: Archaebacteria, Eubacteria, Protista, Fungi, Plantae, and Animalia. Classification is based on characteristics like cell structure, DNA, and phylogeny.

1. Chapter 1: Nature of Science
Section 4:Classifying and Diverstiy

2. A. Why we need to Classify organisms
1. Hundreds of new organisms are discovered and
named each year.
2. Most of the new discoveries are INSECTS.
3. Most are found in the tropical rain forest.

3. B. History of Classification
1. Classify: to group things based on similarities.
a. Example: Grocery aisles are grouped by the type of
food they stock.
b. Libraries: Books are grouped together by type.
c. Music Stores: Group CD’s by type of music.
2. Aristotle was the first person to classify living
things.
a. He developed a science of classifying and naming
organisms called TAXONOMY.
b. Divided living things into two groups called
KINGDOMS.
c. KINGDOM: Largest of all the taxonomic categories.
d. Two groups were called Plants and Animals.

4. 3. Aristotle used two main characteristics (color and
movement) to figure out which kingdom the
organism should be placed.
a. If it was green and did not move it was a plant.
b. If it wasn’t green and moved it was an animal.
DO YOU SEE ANY POSSIBLE PROBLEMS WITH ARISTOTLE’S
CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM? (Think about a grasshopper, a
frog, red maple trees, etc….)

5. 4. Aristotle’s Plant Kingdom
a. Subgroup Herbs: small plants
b. Subgroup Shrubs: medium plants
c. Subgroup Trees: large plants.

6. 5. Aristotle’s Animal Kingdoms
a. Subgroup Avian: air animals
b. Subgroup Aquatic: water animals
c. Subgroup Terrestrial: Land Animals

7. C. Problems with Aristotle’s Classification
1. Some organisms cannot be classified by his
taxonomic characteristics.
a. Frogs: They are green and they moved!!!
b. Red Maple Trees: They are red and did not move (like
people; we know plants do move toward the sun)
c. Ducks: fly through the air, float on water, and nest on
land.
2. Because of these problems; improvements had to
be made.

8. D. Carolus Linnaeus (Swedish Naturalist)
1. Linnaeus created a better system to classify
organisms.
a. His system was based on similarities in body structure
and systems, size, shape, color, and the method of
obtaining food.

9. 2. Linnaeus also created a system for naming
organisms.
a. BINOMIAL NOMENCLATURE: 2 word naming system
used to name all organisms.
b. BINOMIAL NOMENCLATURE is still used today
c. This is also called the Scientific Name
3. Scientific Name has two parts
a. First word is called the GENUS.
b. The second word is called the SPECIES.

10. E. Rules of Binomial Nomenclature
1. Genus always comes first, is always capitalized, and
either italicized or underlined.
2. The Species always is second, is always lowercase,
and either italicized or underlined.
3. Scientific names are always written in Latin; all
educated people worldwide used to speak Latin.

11. 4. Examples of Scientific Names
a. Scientific Names
b. Canis familiaris-dog
c. Felis domesticus-cat
d. Homo sapiens-humans
e. Canis Lupus- Wolf
f. All the different breeds of dogs are all
Canis familiaris; therefore they can
interbreed (Mutt)

12. 5. Only organisms of the same SPECIES can
successfully reproduce without any problems.
a. Horse X Donkey= Mule (cannot reproduce)
b. Lion X Tiger= Liger
c. Zebra and Donkey= Zedonk
d. ***Naming these organisms is tricky, you would use
the genus name of the parents then both species
names of the parents: Mule (Equus caballus x asinus)
Liger Link

13. F. How Do We Classify today?
1. Based on the following
a. Presence of a nucleus
b. How many cells are present.
c. Ability to make food.
d. Ability to move.
e. DNA
f. Body Structure (how may legs, arm, lungs, etc.)
g. Phylogeny
2. Phylogeny is the organism’s evolutionary history.

14. G. Taxonomic Groups (From largest to smallest)
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species

15. H. The Six Kingdoms Used Today
1. Archaebacteria
a. Once celled bacteria that live in extreme
environments, like salt water, volcanoes, and sulfur
springs.
b. Prokaryotes: does not have a true nucleus, DNA is
there bit it is not surrounded by a membrane.
c. Some make own food, some do not.

16. Prokaryote vs. Eukaryote

17. 2. Eubacteria
a. One celled bacteria that live in normal environments.
b. Prokaryotes (does not have a true nucleus)
c. Example: Streptococcus, cyanobacteria (green), E. Coli
3. Protista
a. 1 or many celled
b. Most live in water
c. Eukaryotic (has a true nucleus)
d. Examples: (paramecium, Amoeba, Euglena)

18. 4. Fungi
a. Have one or many cells
b. Eukaryotic (has a true nucleus)
c. Examples: Mushrooms, molds, yeasts
5. Plants
a. Many celled organisms
b. Eukaryotic (has a true nuclues)
c. Examples: Roses, Grass, Apple Tree, Moss

19. 6. Animal Kingdom
a. Many celled
b. Most advanced kingdom
c. Eukaryotic : has a true nucleus, membrane
surrounds genetic material.
d. Examples: Humans, monkeys, sponges, ect.

20. I. Ways Organisms Obtain Food
1. Producers: can make their own food by
photosynthesis.
a. Example: Plants, green bacteria, green protists
2. Consumers: Cannot make their own food; must
go out and get it from another organism.

21. 3. Types of Consumers
a. Parasites: Feed off another living thing; usually harsm
the host. (fleas, ticks, leeches) (see previous slide for
pic)
b. Decomposer (Saprophyte): Feed off of already dead
things. (humans, flies, crows, turkey vultures)
c. Predator: Hunts, kills, and eats its prey immediately.
(Tigers, Grizzly Bears, Eagles, Red Tailed Hawks)

22. J. Summary of Classification
1. 1.5 million species have been identified.
2. Scientists believe there are between 5 to 30
million species on Earth.
3. Aristotle started out with 2 (Plant/Animal)
4. Invention of microscope led to a third kingdom
(Protist).
5. More studies led to 5 kingdoms (Plant, Animal,
Fungi, Protist, and Bacteria {Monera})
6. Today there are 6; Bacteria is now broken into
Archaebacteria and Eubacteria.
7. Is there a 7th in the future??? (Viruses????)

23. K. Species Diversity
1. Diversity: Great variety of plants, animals, and
other species living in an area.
a. More diverse an area, the more stable it is.
2. In 1 hectare (50 acres) of the Rain Forest there
are around 200 species of plants and 1000
species of animals. (Wow!!!!)
a. This region has excellent diversity.
b. Unfortunately we are cutting down about 1000 acres
of rain forest every minute!!!!!

24. L. Extinction
1. Extinction: when a species no longer exists.
2. Examples:
a. Dodo bird
b. Passenger Pigeon
c. Tasmanian Wolf
d. Carolina Parakeet
e. Dinosaurs

25. M. What Does Endangered Mean?
1. Endangered: Animals that are close to becoming
extinct.
2. Examples:
a. Florida Panther
b. Bog Turtle
c. Gray Wolf
d. Manatee

26. N. Common Names
1. Scientists do not use common names because
they can be very confusing; often there are many
names for the same organism.
2. Examples:
a. Groundhog and Woodchuck
b. Puma, Cougar, and Mountain Lion (depending upon
location)
3. Because of this scientists only use scientific
names.

27. O. Tools for Identifying Organisms
1. Field Guide: Book of traits and pictures to
identify organisms.
2. Dichotomous Keys: a detailed list of traits used
to classify organisms. (we will do an activity on
this!!!)