Module 11

Classification of
Organisms
Day 1 of 2

I. Isnt everything living

thing either a plant or an
animal?
A. Aristotle is credited with
the first true classification
system. He grouped all living
things into two basic groups:
plant and animal.
OR

B. Linnaeus further classified

plants and animals by dividing
them into related groups. He
used the Latin language,
because Latin was not longer
spoken conversationally and
thus was less likely to change.
1. He first grouped related
organisms. He called this a
genus. For example, all of
the dog-like creatures were
grouped as the genus Canis.

2. He next gave every different type

of organism in the group a
specific name, which he called
specie. For example, the dog
became
Canis familiaris and the wolf
Canis lupus. Notice the genus is
capitalized but the specie begins
with a lower case letter!
Both are italicized or underlined.

3. Every organism was given a

two-word name, the genus
and specie. This practice of
binomial nomenclature
continues today, giving each
organism a scientific name.
4. The benefit of binomial
What
nomenclature includes
name do
you use for eliminating confusion due to
common names (ex.
this
cottonmouth and water
organism?
moccasin are actually the
same animal) and allows
scientists around the world to

Loxosceles reclusa
(Brown Recluse)

C. Even after the microbial

world was discovered, the
two kingdom system
continued.

E. The science of classification, taxonomy,

now allowed scientists to assign seven levels
of taxa to living organisms:
King
Phillip
Came
Over
For
Green
Soup

1. The kingdom is the most general of these

seven taxa, thus the kingdom would contain
the greatest number of organisms.
2. Specie is the most specific of these seven
taxa, thus the specie would contain only one
type of organism. A specie is defined as a
group of organisms which can interbreed and
produce fertile offspring.

F. Today, we use three domains, which are

divided into six kingdoms. These domains
are based on new information about possible
evolutionary relationships.

Kahoot!
Binomial Nomenclature

Independent Practice
1.
2.

3.

4.

5.

Go to: mscainlittlefield.weebly.com
Find todays PowerPoint slides in Mod
11
Find the slide after this and complete
the questions in your travel journal
Raise your hand when you have
finished
Complete the binomial nomenclature
activity

1.
2.

3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Which level is the most

general? The most
specific?
At what taxonomic
level do the dog and
human become
different?
What is the family
name of the dog?
Which organism is
most closely related to
the dog?
What is the scientific
name of the dog?
A genus is composed of
a number of related?
A group of related
phyla are?
Which taxon contains
the largest # of
organisms?