Name ______________________________
Date _______________
Classification of Living Organisms
(Homework and Study Guide)
1.
Distinguish between these terms:
a) taxonomy and phylogeny: _____________________________________________________________
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b) kingdom and species: _________________________________________________________________
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c) phylum and division: _________________________________________________________________
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2.
List the seven levels of classification in order from broadest to most specific.
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3.
Who was the first person to attempt to classify the living organisms on Earth? What method was used to
classify them? Given an example of the problem of using this type of system.
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_____________________4. Who was the first to attempt a scientific classification of the organisms on Earth?
_____________________5. On what basis did this person classify living organisms?
_____________________6. What is the system of naming that involves giving an organism a two-part name?
_____________________7. What are the two parts to this scientific name?
_____________________8. In what language is the scientific name written?
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_____________________9. The evolutionary history of a species is its ___9___, but ___10___ is the science
that groups and names species.
____________________10.
11.
How is the classification process used by modern taxonomists different from the methods used by
Linnaeus in the 1700’s? _________________________________________________________________
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12.
Why should the use of common names be avoided when classifying living organisms? _______________
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13.
What is a molecular clock? _______________________________________________________________
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14.
Which of the following is the correctly written scientific name for the lion?
(a) Panthera leo (b) panther leo (c) Panthero leo
(d) Panthero Leo
15.
Which of the following would be an example of a derived character?
(a) the legs of insects (b) hair in mammals (c) the eyes of a fish (d) the chromosomes in a horse.
16.
In cladistics, the evolutionary relationship between two organisms is determined by:
(a) analogous structures (b) shared derived characters (c) homologous structures
(d) embryological relationships (e) structural similarity.
17.
What is a “shared derived character”? ______________________________________________________
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18.
What is the system of classification that is based on shared derived characters?
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19.
List the six kingdoms in the 6-kingdom classification system. For each kingdom, give the following
information: (1) cell type (2) cell organization (3) method of food getting
Kingdom
20.
Cell Type
Cell Organization
Method of Food
Getting
List the three domains. Describe the basis for separating organisms into these domains.
a) __________________________________________________________________________________
b) __________________________________________________________________________________
c) __________________________________________________________________________________
21.
22.
To what kingdom does each of the following organisms belong?
_______________ a) Molds
_______________ b) Lizards
_______________ c) Strep
_______________ d) Live in hostile environments
_______________ e) Ameba
_______________ f) mildews
_______________ g) algae
_______________ h) bacteria that causes a sinus infection
_______________ i) pine tree
_______________ j) thermophiles - extreme heat loving bacteria
_______________ k) aardvark
_______________ l) roses
The Protista kingdom has been referred to as the “catch-all” kingdom and as the “odds and ends”
kingdom. Why are these appropriate nicknames for the Protista kingdom? _________________________
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23.
In what ways are the Archaebacteria different than the eubacteria? _______________________________
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24.
List two reasons why the Fungi are not placed in the plant kingdom.
a) ___________________________________________________________________________________
b) ___________________________________________________________________________________
25.
Why do the protists, fungi, plants and animals share a domain? __________________________________
26.
Which kingdoms contain only organisms that are multicellular? __________________________________
27.
Which kingdoms contain only organisms that are heterotrophic? _________________________________
Examine the information in the table below showing the classification of 4 different
animals. Use the table below to answer questions 28 – 37.
Classification
Level
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Rattlesnake
Animalia
Chordata
Reptilia
Squamata
Viperidae
Crotalus
atrox
Elephant
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Proboscidae
Elephantidae
Loxadonta
africana
Bald Eagle
Animalia
Chordata
Aves
Falconiformes
Accipitridae
Haliaeetus
leucocephalus
Human
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Primates
Hominidae
Homo
sapiens
28.
What is the most specific level of classification to which all four animals belong? ___________________
29.
Give at least two characteristics that these four animals share. ___________________________________
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30.
Which level of classification includes the most specific characteristics? ____________________________
31.
Would you find more species in a family or in an order? Why? __________________________________
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32.
What is the scientific name (correctly written) of the elephant? __________________________________
33.
Which two organisms are the most closely related? ____________________________________________
34.
Referring to question 33, can you think of two reasons why these two animals might be placed in the same
class?
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35.
Which level of classification includes only one type of organism? ________________________________
36.
If two organisms belong to the same order, to what other groups must they also belong? ______________
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37.
What can you conclude about an organism whose scientific name is Crotalus transversus? ____________
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Use the cladogram to the right to answer
the following questions.
38.
What are the derived characters shown in this
cladogram? ___________________________________
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39.
Which two groups have the most shared derived characters?
________________________________________________
40.
The lancelet is the outgroup. What does this mean? ___________________________________________
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41.
Does a lamprey have jaws? _______________________________________________________________
42.
Does a tuna have jaws? __________________________________________________________________
43.
Which group on the cladogram arose first? __________________________________________________
44.
List all the organisms shown in the cladogram that have four walking legs. _________________________
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