classification

1. BIOLOGY:
Classification

2. Create an organism and
describe how it meets
each of the MRS GREN
characteristics.
BE CREATIVE - design
and hand in at the end of
the lesson. It can not be
an organism that already
exists.

3. How do we know if something
is living?
Think Pair Share (2 min): make a list of
characteristics all living things must have.
o M - Movement
o R - Reproduction
o S - Sensitivity
o G - Growth
o R - Respiration
o E - Excretion
o N - Nutrition
MRS GREN
All requirements must be
met to be considered
‘living’

4. Movement
• All living things can move
• Animal movement is easy
to observe
• Plants move towards
sunlight, by the release of
plant growth hormones.
• Microscopic organisms like
bacteria move using hairs
(cilia) or tails (flagella).

5. Reproduction
All living things can make
more of themselves
Examples:
• Animals mating with sperm
and egg, to create offspring
with DNA from both parents.
• Plants producing seeds,
spores, or bulbs to grow a
new plant
• Bacterium splitting in two,
producing 2 identical
bacteria.

6. Sensitivity
o All living things can sense the
external and internal
environment and make
changes in response
o Responses to the environment
may be:
o fast - e.g. burning yourself and
moving your hand away, or
o slower – e.g. plant response to
light, metabolism
Dogs pant to cool down.
Prey begin to run as a response to
hearing and/or seeing a predator.

7. Growth
o All living things can grow.
o Growth does not just mean
‘getting bigger’.
o Organisms can change
throughout their life, going
through a life cycle.
o When fully grown, living things
look similar to what produced
them.

8. Respiration
o All living things need energy
to carry out functions
o Respiration is a process that
releases energy from sugars
so cells can use it
o Complex organisms have
developed organs to take in
oxygen and remove carbon
dioxide produced. E.g. lungs,
gills, skin
o Plants use photosynthesis to
make their own sugars, and
use them in respiration

9. Excretion
o All living things produce waste products that need to be
removed.
o In animals, they are removed by exhaling, sweating, urinating,
and emptying bowels.
o In plants, some wastes are removed via pores on leaves.
Others are stored in bark, leaves and stems, that are then
dropped, or released into the soil.

10. Nutrition
o All living things require
nutrients to growth, repair
and carry out functions.
o Water is also essential for
life and needed for many
processes
o Animals: eat food or drink
o Plants: make their own
food (e.g. through
photosynthesis), but also
require water and nutrients
from the soil.
o Bacteria: take nutrients
from environment into the
cell

11. Consider these organisms.
How do they meet all the
criteria for living things?
M - Movement
R – Reproduction
S - Sensitivity
G - Growth
R - Respiration
E - Excretion
N - Nutrition
penguin fly

12. Review and Reflect
Mild
What does the
Acronym MRS
GREN stand for?
Medium
According to the table,
what options are living?
Explain Why.
Spicy
How does
respiration
differ between
a plant and an
animal?
Emu Rock
Moss Sand
Bacteria water

13. Living or non-living?
Does it…? Paper Bushfire Worm My dog Computer
Move
Reproduce
Sense
Grow
Respire
Excrete waste
Need Nutrients
Is it Living?
If something only meets some of the criteria, is it
living? Why/why not?

14. What is the difference between non-living
and dead?
o Something dead was once living and
had all required characteristics – e.g.
wood used to be a living tree.
o Something non-living has never been
alive – e.g. water, rocks, paper

15. Brainstorm:
What classifications can everyday
things be grouped into?
For example,
movies can be
grouped by genre.

16. Classification
o Grouping objects by their shared
features is called classification.
o For example, breakfast cereals
are all in one aisle of a
supermarket. Rubbish is sorted
for recycling. Clothes are sorted
into different drawers.
o Classifying objects by key
features helps organise our lives
and find what we are looking for
easily.

17. Why is classification of living
things important?
o Taxonomy: the science of classifying living things
o Having a universal system of classifying living things
has many benefits:
o Makes studying different kinds of organisms and
sharing scientific knowledge much easier.
o Tells us about the similarities between species and
allows for easier identification
o Help conservation efforts – can identify native vs
introduced species

18. Who am I?
PART 1.
o Describe the appearance of an animal to your partner (verbally, without
using the animal’s name).
o Your partner should try to draw the animal.
PART 2.
o This time, draw an animal. Your partner should try to guess what it is.
DISCUSS:
o How effective was describing vs. drawing when communicating about the
animal?
o What problems were there? How could these problems be overcome with
technology?

19. A scientist wants to research
the effect of heat and
drought on buffalo grass.
But which buffalo grass???
Southern and Central Africa
Australia and South Africa
North American plains

20. Which bird is this?

21. What about this one?

22. They are both called Magpies
Eurasian magpie (Pica pica)
Closely related to crows
Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen)
Closely related to butcherbirds,
currawongs and woodswallows.

23. Why is classification important?
For example:

24. History of classification
o Scientists once relied on drawing,
writing letters, and publishing books
to document and share their
findings.
o Biologists studying similar organisms
or habitats had difficulty accurately
communicating and collaborating
with each other.
o This caused a lot of confusion and
repetition. For example, the same
organism being documented at
different stages of its life without
realising – e.g. frog and tadpole.

25. Linnaean Classification system
o Having one system to organise life helps scientists stay
consistent and makes communication easier.
o Carolus Linnaeus (1707 – 1778) developed the current
system of classifying living things.
o 7 levels of classification
o Kingdom
o Phylum
o Class
o Order
o Family
o Genus
o Species
o This system also provided species with a universally
recognised scientific name, as opposed to common names
(like Magpie)
Think of a
Mnemonic to
remember the
levels

26. Example:
Domestic Cat
Species name:
Felis catus
(genus species)

27. Linnaean Classification
Watch the video and answer the questions.
1. According to the video, what feature do all
organisms in the phylum Chordata have in
common?
2. Why is the bear not part of the Felidae
family?
3. Organisms that belong to the same
____________ must be able to
reproduce.
4. What happened to the number of
organisms as we went down the levels?

28. Binomial System
o Scientific name: a universal name for a group of
organisms, composed of their genus followed by the
species name.
Genus species
o Scientific names are called binomial (bi=2, nomial =
name). For example:
o Species: a group of organisms who look similar and
produce fertile offspring.
o Investigate: What is the Binomial or scientific name for a
Frilled-neck lizard? Red kangaroo?
Common name Scientific name
Domestic cat Felis catus
Human Homo sapiens

29. COMMON NAMES: green anaconda, common
anaconda, water boa
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Reptilia
ORDER: Squamata
FAMILY: Boidae
GENUS SPECIES:
Eunectes murinus
(“good swimmer”) (“mouse-grey coloured)

30. Choose 2 very different animals,
and record their classification
Animal 1 Animal 2
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
E.g.
Crocodile
Pelican
Blue-ringed octopus
Cane toad
Hammerhead shark
Echidna
Sometimes a
familiar animal has
different species!
Choose one.

31. Guess the animal!
Scientific name:
Tachyglossus aculeatus
(quick tongue, spiny)
Macropus giganteus
(long foot, huge)
Phascolarctos cinereus
(pouch bear, grey)
Common name:
Short-beaked echidna
Eastern grey kangaroo
Koala
Scientific names are often in Latin and tell us something about the
organism. For example, these are Australian native animals

32. Review and Reflect
Mild
List the order of
Linnaean
classification.
Medium
Explain which
classification levels have
the most organisms and
which classification level
has the least.
Spicy
Sharks and dolphins
both have streamlined
bodies and live in the
water. Which
classification levels do
they share? Why would
they differ after those
levels?

33. Organisms are divided into 5
Kingdoms https://youtu.be/T
PZSoNY9vAo
Overview of each
kingdom

34. Kingdom Animalia
Broken into two main groups.
https://youtu.be/mRidGna-V4E
▶ Vertebrates: Internal skeleton (endoskeleton) – 1
Phylum
▶ Invertebrates: No internal skeleton present, or have
an external skeleton (Exoskeleton) like beetles and
crabs. – Many phyla

35. KINGDOM ANIMALIA
• The characteristics of all the organisms in this group are
• Multicellular
• Cells have a nucleus but no cell wall
• Gain energy from other living things
• Scientists that study animals - Zoologists

36. SKELETON
In the Kingdom Animalia, the first question scientists ask is
“Does this animal have an internal or external skeleton?”
Internal Skeleton – Endoskeleton
Make the group Vertebrates
External Skeleton – Exoskeleton
Make the group Invertebrates

37. Invertebrates make up more than
90% of all living animal species
Arthropods
Poriferans
Molluscs
Cnidarians
Nematodes, Platyhelminths,
Annelids
Echinoderm
There are 35 recognised phyla of Invertebrates, grouped by their
structural similarities and evolutionary history.
The most well-known are:

38. Body Exoskeleton
Yes/No
Environment
Aquatic
(water)
Terrestrial
(land)
Special
Features
Examples
Arthropods
Poriferans
Molluscs
Cnidarians
Nematodes
Platyhelminths
Annelids
Echinoderms
Complete the table

39. Vertebrates are Organised
into 5 Classes
Which class an organism
belongs depends on the
following:
▶ Body covering
▶ How young are borne
▶ Body Temperature
(endothermic or
exothermic)
▶ What they use to
breathe

40. Body
covering
what is
used to
breathe
How do
they have
babies
Endothermic
or exothermic
Examples
Mammalia
Aves
Reptilia
Amphibia
Pisces
Complete the table

41. Mammalia
▶ Hair or fur
▶ Endothermic
▶ Give birth to live young
▶ Feed young with their own milk
Subgroups:
Monotremes - lay eggs (Echidna,
Platypus)
Marsupials - Young are carried in a
pouch (kangaroo, koala, wombat,
possum)
Placentals - Placenta connects fetus with
mother for nutrients during pregnancy.

42. AVES
Endothermic
Covering of feathers
Scaly legs
Lay eggs with a hard
shell
Hollow bones

43. Reptiles
Body covered in a
layer of fine scales
Use lungs to breath
Ectothermic
Soft shelled eggs
A few species give
live birth

44. Amphibia
Ectothermic
Soft slimy skin (wet) -
why?
Lay eggs without shells
in the water
Begin life in the water
then develop lungs and
can live on land.

45. Pisces
Ectothermic
Covered in scales and
many have fins
Live in water
Use gills to breathe
Grouped by their
internal skeleton:
Cartilage (sharks, rays,
skates)
Bony skeleton (Tuna)

46. Review and Reflect
Mild
Give an example for
each class of
vertebrate and
invertebrate.
Medium
What is the difference
between an ectothermic,
endothermic and
exothermic.
Spicy
Do all invertebrates have
an exoskeleton? Explain.

47. DISSECTION TIME
Fish and Squid

48. Dichotomous Keys
❏Scientists like to sort organisms
with similar characteristics into
groups. This is also known as
classification.
❏Dichotomous Key - Visual tool
used to classify organisms.
❏Branched key (Di = two) always
splitting in two.

49. Dichotomous key
❏Simple yes or no decisions
❏What characteristics might you
use to decide if an organism is a
bird, Reptile, fish, mammal,
amphibian?

50. Dichotomous Keys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQZ09SkmZe4
▶ What characteristics might you use to decide if an organism is a
bird, Reptile, fish, mammal, amphibian?

51. Creating a Dichotomous
Key
USEFUL
Yes / no choices should be
based on characteristics
which are visible.
E.g Feathers covering the
body or no feathers
covering the body.
NOT USEFUL
Questions based on what
the organism is doing, or a
feature that can change.
E.g Sleeping or not
sleeping.
E.g Scratching fur or not
scratching fur.
Why?

52. Dichotomous Key
Make your own dichotomous key for
the aliens below.

53. Tabular Keys
https://youtu.be/M51AKJqx-7s (links to using a tabular key)
Large dichotomous keys may not be
useful in the field trying to identify
organisms.
Tabular keys or a field guide can be
used instead.
They can be made into a book, to
identify organisms.

54. Review and Reflect
Mild
A dog dreams about
cats, would this be part
of a Dichotomous Key?
Medium
Why is it important to
use observable
characteristics in a
dichotomous key?
Spicy
Why might two people
using the same
dichotomous key come to
a different conclusion?

55. Glossary terms
write a definition and include
a diagram where possible
Taxonomy
Multicellular
Unicellular
Nucleus
Cell wall
Plankton
Amoeba
Endoskeleton
Vertebrate
Exoskeleton
Invertebrate
Endotherm
Ectotherm
Autotroph
Heterotroph