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UMUC Biology 102/103
Lab 6: Taxonomy
INSTRUCTIONS:
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On your own and without assistance, complete this Lab 6 Answer Form electronically and submit
it via the Assignments Folder by the date listed on your Course Schedule (under Syllabus).
To conduct your laboratory exercises, use the Laboratory Manual that is available in the
WebTycho classroom (Reserved Reading or provided by your instructor) or at the eScience Labs
Student Portal. Laboratory exercises on your CD may not be updated.
Save your Lab6AnswerForm in the following format: LastName_Lab6 (e.g., Smith_Lab6).
You should submit your document in a Word (.doc or .docx) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) for best
compatibility.
Experiment 1: Classification of Common Objects
Questions
1. Did you find that the items grouped together as you worked down the flow chart had similar
characteristics in terms of their appearance? What about function?
2. Do you feel that the questions asked were appropriate? What questions would you have asked?
What objects would be grouped together with your system?
3. Pick 10 household items (e.g. spoon, book, paper clip, etc.) and design a taxonomic classification
system to categorize them, similar to the one in Figure 2.
4. Can you devise a different classification system for the objects used in this experiment that would
distinguish each in as many, or fewer steps?
Experiment 2: Classification of Organisms
Table 2: Key Characteristics of Some Organisms
Organism
Kingdom
Defined
Nucleus
Mobile
E. coli
Mushroom
✔
✔
Sunflower
✔
Bear
✔
Protozoa
✔
Cell Wall
Photosynthesis
Unicellular
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
Questions
1. Did this series of questions correctly organize each organism? Why or why not?
2. What additional questions would you ask to further categorize the items within the kingdoms (hint:
think about other organisms in the kingdom and what makes them different than the examples used
here)?
3. Do you feel that the questions asked were appropriate? What questions would you have asked?
Figure 2: Experiment 1: Classification of Common Objects Flow Chart
Start
Is the object cylindrical or
round?
Yes
No
1.
Is there a hole in or near the
center of the object?
Is the object
used for writing?
No
Yes
Yes
No
2.
Yes
Yes
Is the object smooth on
the outside (no angles)?
Yes
Is there permanent ink
on the object?
No
Yes
3.
No
5.
4.
Yes
6.
Yes
Is the object metal?
No
9.
Is the object longer
than 5 cm?
Yes
No
No
Does the object have
more than one hole?
7.
8.
Yes
Figure 3: Experiment 2: Classification of Organisms Flow Chart
Start
Does the organism have a
defined nucleus?
Yes
No
Kingdom:
Bacteria
Is the organism mobile?
Yes
No
Kingdom:
No
Fungi
Yes
Kingdom:
Does the organism
perform
photosynthesis?
Does the organism
have a cell wall?
Yes
No
Kingdom:
Kingdom:
Protist
Animal
Plant