Science 2011: Classifying Living Things18/07/2011 3:41:00 AM
Name
Term
Three, 2011
File Location
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Section 10
Section 11
Section 12

Contents
Introduction and Assessment
GLOSSARY
What is life?
Classification
History of Science: Carl Linnaeus
Kingdoms, Phyla, Classes (‘Kinds’) and ‘Species’
Naming Conventions
Vertebrate Classes
Invertebrate Classes
Plant Classes
Search for new life-forms
Introduction
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Genesis 1 records God’s creation of all living things:
 green seed-bearing plants, all varieties, and fruit-bearing trees of
all sorts;
 the huge whales, all the swarm of life in the waters, and every kind
and species of flying birds.
 wild animals of every kind, cattle of all kinds, every sort of reptile
and bug.
 human beings; created godlike, reflecting God's nature.
Taxonomy is arguably the world's oldest profession, and naming and
classifying what's around us is part of the human condition. Scientific
naming began with the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in the eighteenth
century. Scientists still use his system to help make sense of the estimated
13 to 14 million different types of organisms in the world (and the list
keeps growing) today!
So how can we logically organise them?
When we are given a large, complicated group of things to organise, the
first thing we often do is to sort them into smaller, simpler groups
according to similar characteristics. This is called classification.
Biologists have used the structural features of animals as the basis for
classification. Structural features are how they are physically made up, so if
animals have been grouped together it means that they have obvious
structures in common.
Syllabus Outcomes
Students learn about:
4.8.2a) classify living things according to structural features and identify
that they have patterns of similarities and differences
4.8.2b) identify a range of plants and animals using simple keys
4.10c) describe the roles of photosynthesis and respiration in ecosystems
Reporting Outcomes
By the end of this unit students will be able to:
Assessment
Assessment will include:
GLOSSARY
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This is a starting list of terms you need to be familiar with.
You need to know
 What
 HOW
 HOW
What is Life?
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Meet MRS GREN
or MR SNERG
Complete this acrostic adding one relevant image as an example of each.
All living things:
M
R
S
N
E
R
G
Classification or Taxonomy
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When we are given a large, complicated group of things to organise, the first
thing we often do is to sort them into smaller, simpler groups according to
similar characteristics. This is called classification.
Biologists have used the structural features of animals as the basis for
classification. Structural features are how they are physically made up, so if
animals have been grouped together it means that they have obvious structures
in common.
Use this website to answer the following questions about TAXONOMY
Who is involved in taxonomy?
Why is taxonomy important?
Carl Linnaeus
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You will need headphones for this research.
Read this introduction of Carl Linneaus from the UK Natural History Museum.
Focus particularly on these sections
 The young botanist
 Linnaeus’ theory of classification
 Linnaeus’ legacy
Follow this link to watch a video on Linnaeus’ life.
KPCOFGS
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What does KPCOFGS stand for?
How is it used?
Give two examples of animal names using this classification system.
Is there a way you can remember these levels of classification?
Naming Convention
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Taxonomy uses the BINOMIAL system of naming. What is this and who invented
it?
Collect the image from here showing how this system works.
Go to the Taronga Zoo website and select three animals that are exhibited there
which belong to the same CLASS and for each one record
 Common name
 Binomial name
 Habitat
 Image
Vertebrates
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Invertebrates
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Plants
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Some websites use the term ‘Division’ (or
‘Divisio’) instead of Phylum to distinguish
between major groups of plants and animals.
This website uses ‘Divisio.’
Use information from the website (and others) to
complete the table below.
Divisio
(Phylum)
Bryophyte
Equisetophyta
Lycopodiaphyta
Magnoliophyta
Pinophyta
Polypodiophyta
Psilotophyta
Common name
Number
of Classes
Example (with name)
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