Survey of the Kingdoms of Life
LAHS Honors Biology
Objective: Over the next week you and your classmates will observe at least one
organism from each of the kingdoms of life as you refresh your skills with the light
microscope, learn new techniques, and gain an awareness of the
interconnectedness of life on our planet.
A few things to note:
● It is debatable whether to classify organisms into five or six kingdoms. Most scientists in the U.S. classify
them into six, but for our observations in this lab, we will not observe organisms from archaebacteria.
● Appendix I (directly follows pg. 788 in your text) and the dichotomous key on the back will help you in your
analysis of the organisms and how they are classified.
Procedure:
DAY 1
1. Practice using the light microscope, by observing the prepared slide (organism 1). Use the highest
power while still being able to keep the organism in focus. (The key here is to center the organism
and focus it at the lowest power FIRST before increasing the magnification. If at any point you lose
your image, start over at low power.)
2. Use the motic tutorial to take a digital image of the specimen. Save the file as a JPEG and have one
group member drag and drop this image into a google document. Title this Organism 1. This will
be shared with the group later.
3. Using the identification key on the back of this page and Appendix I, determine the kingdom to
which this organism might be classified.
DAY 2
Use Motic (see tutorial) to do the following with organism 2:
1. Make a wet mount of organism 2 as demonstrated by the online tutorial. Remember to place the
cover slip at a 45° angle, drag it to the drop of water, and then slowly drop it down. This prevents
unwanted bubbles from forming in your slide.
2. Take a digital image of the specimen at the highest power possible while still keeping the
specimen in focus.
3. Annotate the image with Motic:
a. Measure the specimen (length and width) with the measuring tool
b. Label two easily distinguishable parts of the specimen (for instance, cell wall, nucleus, flagella)
c. At the bottom of the image, type in the magnification the specimen was viewed under (40X,
100x, or 400X)
4. Save the image as a jpeg file and drag it into the same Google document from yesterday. Title this
Organism #??
5. When the image is selected, click on “wrap text” under the image. Size the image down so that all 6
specimen images will fit onto one page. (Remember the class example???)
6. Clean the slide as instructed and continue on to another organism, following steps 1-5. Be careful,
as you and your partner may not be observing the same organisms as another group. If you have
questions about whether or not you’re looking at the correct organism, it’s best to ask your
instructor.
7. Share the google doc so that each group member has a copy.
8. Give the page a title and place your name, period, and date in the top right hand corner. Your
group member(s) name will go BELOW the date.
9. Fill in the information for the organism on the analysis handout. Your textbook (Appendix 1) will
help.
Day 3-4
1. Continue using the digital microscopes and Motic to observe, photograph, and annotate images of
the organisms.
2. Complete the analysis handout.
At Home
Print your organism images page and attach it to your completed analysis handout. These should all be
on ONE page and each group member needs to have their own to turn in.
Dichotomous Identification key:
1. Is it green or does it have green parts?
a. Yes - go to 2
b. No - go to 3
2. Could be a plant, a protist, or blue-green bacteria. Make sure that the green is really part of the organism,
though. An animal might have eaten something green, for example.
a. Single-celled? go to 6
b. Multicellular? Plantae. Look for cell walls, internal structure. In the compound microscope you might
be able to see chloroplasts.
3. Could be a moneran (bacteria), protist, fungus, or animal.
a. Single-celled - go to 4
b. Multicellular (Look for complex or branching structure, appendages) - go to 5
4. Could be a moneran or a protist. Can you see any detail inside the cell?
a. Yes - Protista. You should be able to see at least a nucleus and/or contractile vacuole, and a definite
shape. Movement should be present, using cilia, flagella, or amoeboid motion. Cilia or flagella may be
difficult to see.
b. No - Monera. Should be quite small. May be shaped like short dashes (rods), small dots (cocci), or
curved or spiral shaped. The largest of them that is commonly found in freshwater is called Spirillum
volutans. It is spiral shaped, and can be nearly a millimeter long. Except for Spirillum, it is very difficult
to see monerans except in a compound microscope with special lighting.
5. Animalia or Fungi. Is it moving?
a. Yes - Animalia. Movement can be by cilia, flagella, or complex, involving parts that contract.
Structure should be complex. Feeding activity may be obvious.
b. No - Fungus. Should be branched, colorless filaments. May have some kind of fruiting body
(mushrooms are a fungus, don't forget). Usually attached to some piece of decaying matter - may form
a fuzzy coating on or around an object. In water, some bacterial infections of fish and other animals
may be mistaken for a fungus.
6. Most likely Protista. If it consists of long, unbranched greenish filaments with no apparent structure inside,
it is blue-green bacteria (sometimes mistakenly called blue-green algae), a Moneran. Most green protists are
flagellates, that is, they move rapidly with a spiraling motion. Unless you get them to stop, you can't really see
the flagella. Watch out for colonial protists, though, such as Volvox, which forms a spinning ball of green cells.
Don't be fooled into thinking it is a plant.
Remember, the more you observe the organism, the more sure you can be. Many living things have stages that
make them resemble members of another kingdom.
Survey of Life: Analysis
Name: __________________________________________________
List the scientific name of the organism that you photographed in the lab then name the kingdom to which it
belongs. List three main characteristics of this kingdom then circle prokaryote or eukaryote, depending on
the organism’s characteristics.
Organism 1: ______________________________
Kingdom: ________________________________
Three characteristics of this kingdom:
1.
Organism 2: ______________________________
Kingdom: ________________________________
Three characteristics of this kingdom:
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
Prokaryote/Eukaryote
Organism 3: ______________________________
Kingdom: ________________________________
Three characteristics of this kingdom:
1.
Prokaryote/Eukaryote
Organism 4: ______________________________
Kingdom: ________________________________
Three characteristics of this kingdom:
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
Prokaryote/Eukaryote
Organism 5: ______________________________
Kingdom: ________________________________
Three characteristics of this kingdom:
1.
Prokaryote/Eukaryote
Organism 6: ______________________________
Kingdom: ________________________________
Three characteristics of this kingdom:
1.
2.
2.
3.
3.
Prokaryote/Eukaryote
Prokaryote/Eukaryote
Analysis Questions:
1. Why is it useful to classify organisms into different categories, like kingdoms?
2. Did you notice any characteristics that organisms from different kingdoms have in common? What are
they?
3. Explain how to distinguish between prokaryote and eukaryote.