How scientists group millions of living things into five kingdoms and give each a two-part name.
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Millions of species exist, so we sort them by similarities and differences. R. H. Whittaker proposed five kingdoms using cell type (prokaryotic or eukaryotic), body organisation, mode of nutrition and reproduction. Monera: unicellular prokaryotes (bacteria, blue-green algae). Protista: unicellular eukaryotes (Amoeba, Paramecium, Euglena). Fungi: eukaryotes with chitin cell walls that feed on dead matter (yeast, mushroom). Plantae: multicellular eukaryotes with cellulose walls that photosynthesise. Animalia: multicellular eukaryotes without cell walls that eat food.
Which kingdom has prokaryotic cells? Give two examples.
Monera, e.g. bacteria and blue-green algae.
Name the kingdom of (a) mushroom, (b) Amoeba, (c) mango tree, (d) frog.
(a) Fungi. (b) Protista. (c) Plantae. (d) Animalia.
Why are fungi not placed in Plantae?
Fungi have no chlorophyll and cannot make food; they absorb food from dead matter, and their walls are made of chitin, not cellulose.
Plantae is divided into Thallophyta (algae, no true root, stem or leaf), Bryophyta (mosses; small land plants with no vascular tissue), Pteridophyta (ferns; vascular tissue but no seeds), Gymnosperms (naked seeds, e.g. pine, cycas) and Angiosperms (flowering plants with seeds inside fruits; monocots and dicots). Animals are grouped into invertebrates (Porifera, Coelenterata, Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Annelida, Arthropoda, Mollusca, Echinodermata) and vertebrates, which have a backbone: fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
Which plant group has seeds but no fruits?
Gymnosperms; their seeds are naked, as in pine.
Name the animal phylum of (a) earthworm, (b) cockroach, (c) starfish.
(a) Annelida. (b) Arthropoda. (c) Echinodermata.
Name the five classes of vertebrates.
Fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
Common names change from place to place, so every species gets a two-part scientific name proposed by Carolus Linnaeus: the genus (capital first letter) followed by the species (small letters), both italicised or underlined. Examples: Homo sapiens (human), Mangifera indica (mango), Panthera leo (lion). Related species share a genus: Panthera leo (lion) and Panthera tigris (tiger).
Write the scientific name of man correctly.
Homo sapiens (genus Homo, species sapiens), italicised.
Why do we use scientific names instead of common names?
Common names vary by language and region; scientific names are the same worldwide, so there is no confusion.
Panthera leo and Panthera tigris: what do the names tell you?
Both are in the same genus, Panthera, so they are closely related; they are different species.
1. What is classification?
2. Who proposed the five kingdom classification?
3. Name the five kingdoms.
4. Which kingdom contains bacteria?
5. Give two features of kingdom Fungi.
6. Name the plant group with vascular tissue but no seeds.
7. What do the words monocot and dicot refer to?
8. Who introduced binomial nomenclature?
9. Write the rule for writing a scientific name.
10. Name the kingdom with eukaryotic, multicellular, cell-wall-free organisms that eat food.