This document provides an overview of how scientists classify organisms. It discusses:
- The process of classification and why scientists do it to group the millions of organisms on Earth.
- Early classification systems developed by Aristotle and Carolus Linnaeus who established the binomial nomenclature system still used today.
- How organisms are classified into a hierarchical system of kingdoms, phyla, classes, orders, families, genera, and species based on their shared characteristics.
- How evolutionary theory influences modern classification by grouping organisms with similar evolutionary histories more closely together based on comparisons of body structures, development, and cellular makeup.