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Classification PPT (1) - 1

Organisms are classified into species based on their ability to reproduce fertile offspring, with the binomial system introduced by Linnaeus using Latin names. Classification can also involve morphological and DNA analysis, revealing relationships among species. The document outlines various groups including fungi, protoctists, bacteria, vertebrates, and plants, emphasizing distinguishing features and reproduction methods.

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15 views19 pages

Classification PPT (1) - 1

Organisms are classified into species based on their ability to reproduce fertile offspring, with the binomial system introduced by Linnaeus using Latin names. Classification can also involve morphological and DNA analysis, revealing relationships among species. The document outlines various groups including fungi, protoctists, bacteria, vertebrates, and plants, emphasizing distinguishing features and reproduction methods.

Uploaded by

sanayaparakh9
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Classification of

organisms
How Organisms are Classified

 A species is defined as a group of organisms


that can reproduce to produce fertile
offspring
 These species can be classified into groups

by the features that they share e.g. all


mammals have bodies covered in hair, feed
young from mammary glands and have
external ears (pinnas)
The Binomial System

 Organisms were first classified by a Swedish


naturalist called Linnaeus in a way that allows the
subdivision of living organisms into smaller and more
specialised groups
 He named organisms in Latin using the binomial
system where the scientific name of an organism is
made up of two parts starting with
the genus (always given a capital letter) and
followed by the species (starting with a lower case
letter)
 When typed binomial names are always
in italics (which indicates they are Latin) e.g. Homo
sapiens
Dichotomous Keys

 Dichotomous means ‘branching into two’


and it leads the user through to the name of
the organism by giving two descriptions
at a time and asking them to choose
 Each choice leads the user onto another two

descriptions
 In order to successfully navigate a key, you

need to pick a single organism to start with


and follow the statements from the
beginning until you find the name
KING PHILIP CAME OVER FOR GRAN’S SPAGHETTI
Using DNA to Classify
Organisms: Extended
Originally, organisms were classified
using morphology (the overall form and shape of the
organism, e.g. whether it had wings or legs)
and anatomy (the detailed body structure as
determined by dissection)
 Studies of DNA sequences of different species show

that the more similar the base sequences in the


DNA of two species, the more closely related
those two species are (and the more recent in time
their common ancestor is)
 This means that the base sequences in a

mammal’s DNA are more closely related to all


other mammals than to any other vertebrate groups
Fungi

Main features of all fungi (e.g.


moulds, mushrooms, yeast)
usually multicellular
cells have nuclei and cell
walls not made from cellulose
do not photosynthesize but feed
by saprophytic (on dead or
decaying material) or
parasitic (on live
material) nutrition
Protoctists

most are unicellular but some


are multicellular
all have a nucleus, some may
have cell walls and chloroplasts
meaning some protoctists
photosynthesise and some
feed on organic
substances made by other living
things
bacteria

often unicellular
cells have cell walls (not made
of cellulose)
and cytoplasm but no nucleus
or mitochondria
Vertebrates
 All vertebrates have a backbone
◦ There are 5 classes of vertebrates
Invertebrates
 At least some parts of any plant are green,
caused by the presence of the
pigment chlorophyll which absorbs energy
from sunlight for the process
of photosynthesis
 The plant kingdom includes organisms such

as ferns and flowering plants


 Ferns
 Have leaves called fronds
 Do not produce flowers but instead reproduce
by spores produced on the underside of fronds
 Flowering plants
 Reproduce sexually by means of flowers and
seeds
 Seeds are produced inside the ovary found at
the base of the flower
 Can be divided into two groups
– monocotyledons and dicotyledons
 How do you distinguish between
monocotyledons and dicotyledons?
 1) Flowers
 Flowers from monocotyledons contain petals

in multiples of 3
 Flowers from dicotyledons contain petals

in multiples of 4 or 5
 2) Leaves
 Leaves from monocotyledons have parallel

leaf veins
 Leaves from dicotyledons have reticulated

leaf veins (meaning that they are all


interconnected and form a web-like network
throughout the leaf)
 Viruses are not part of any classification
system as they are not considered living
things
 They do not carry out the seven life

processes for themselves, instead


they take over a host cell’s metabolic
pathways in order to make multiple copies
of themselves
 Virus structure is simply genetic

material (RNA or DNA) inside a protein


coat

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