SCIENCE – TERM 4BIOLOGY – ORGANISING ORGANISMS

LEVELS OF CLASSIFICATION OF LIFE

Exploring classification of living things and the development of classification

Lesson Goals:• Recall the levels of classification of life• Understand the biological names of organisms by

applying naming conventions• Identify the relative closeness of different organisms

based on their classificationSuccess Criteria:• Identify the levels of classification of life• Identify the biological names of organisms by applying

naming conventions• Compare the relative closeness of different organisms

based on their classification

Homework

Kingdom Monera Protista Fungi Plantae Animalia

Cell Make-up unicellular unicellular Most multi-cellular; some unicellular Multi-cellular Multi-cellular

Examplesbacteria

cynaobacteriaAmoebaParamecium

MushroomsYeast

GrassesTrees

MammalsReptiles

Other Characteristic no nucleus have a nucleus

Motionless organisms that absorb nutrients for survival

Flower and fruit-producing and non-flower and fruit-producing plants

InvertebratesVertebrates

Warm-Up:Answer the following questions in your science workbook.

1. Living things are classified into 5 kingdoms. Name the 5 kingdoms of life.

2. Rewrite and complete this sentence:The A___________ K___________ has animals with backbones: these are called v_____________; and animals without backbones: these are called i___________________.3. The Plant Kingdom is divided into 2 groups. Name these groups.4. Green plants contain c__________________ so they can make

their own food.5. What is the process in Q4 called? It starts with a

p_________________6. Rewrite and complete this sentence: Protists are simple animals and are usually made up of o_____ c_________.7. Mushrooms belong to which kingdom?8. Name an organism that belongs to the Monera Kingdom.

Answers to Warm-Up questions

1. Monera, Protista, Fungi, Animalia, Plantae2. The Animalia Kingdom has animals with backbones: these

are called vertebrates; and animals without backbones: these are called invertebrates.

3. Flower and fruit-producing plants and non-flower and fruit-producing plants

4. Green plants contain chlorophyll so they can make their own food.

5. The process is called photosynthesis.6. Protists are simple animals and are usually made up of one

cell.7. Mushrooms belong to the Fungi Kingdom.8. Bacteria belongs to the Monera Kingdom.

Popcorn Time

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqxomJIBGcY

Why do we need to Classify• Over 2 million species in the world and counting….

We find more every day with new technologies such as microscopes and camera traps.

• Carolus Linneuas was one of the key scientists to classify organisms

• Biological classification is like a library, sorting living things into certain areas.

• Kids books are in one area, and the adult books are in another. Within each of those sections, there will be more divisions such as fiction and non-fiction. This keeps going on to romance and science fiction until you get to one book.

• Without that, we couldn’t organise how to classify animals when we find new ones.

How does biological classification work

• Biological classification works in the same way as a library

• At the top there are the kingdoms. This is sort of like the adult section vs. the kids' section.

• The kingdoms divide up life into big groups like plants and animals. Under the kingdoms are more divisions which would be like fiction, non-fiction, mystery, etc.

• Finally, you get to the species, which is sort of like getting to the actual book in the library.

Levels of Classification of Life

There are seven major levels of classification: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species. The two main kingdoms we think about are plants and animals. Scientists also list three other kingdoms including bacteria, fungi, and protista.

Let’s now have a closer look at each level!

We will now have a look at these levels in practise. The seven levels of classification are listed below for a housecat.

Let’s now compare three similar animals and their levels of classification, and write a paragraph discussing similarities/differences.Take notice of which level of classification they branch off?

Housecat Tiger LionKingdom Animalia Animalia Animalia

Phylum Chordata Chordata Chordata

Class Mammalia Mammalia Mammalia

Order Carnivora Carnivora Carnivora

Family Felidae Felidae Felidae

Genus Felis Panthera PantheraSpecies Catus P. tigris P. leo

These animals are similar in that they are all part of the ‘Felidae’ family, however the housecat separates at the genus level because it has more differences than the tiger and lion, where they separate at the species level.

The following chart traces the classification of a grizzly bear through each of the 7 levels of classification. At each level, be aware of the characteristics the different organisms share.

Lesson summary

Every organism can be classified at 7 different levels - kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species. Each level contains organisms with similar characteristics. The kingdom is the largest group and very broad. Each successive group contains fewer organisms, but the organisms are more similar. The species is the smallest group and is very narrow. Organisms within a species are able to mate and produce fertile offspring.

You can use the following mnemonic to remember the 7 levels – Kings Play Chess On Fat Green Stools

Homework - Create a table to compare the levels of classification between humans, the gorilla and the baboon. Then write a paragraph commenting on similarities and differences between each.Your table should look like the one below.

Human Gorilla Baboon

Kingdom

Phylum

Class

Order

Family

Genus

Species