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Classification A Brief Introduction! Picture yourself at a grocery store… You want to find this… Where do you go? • Freezer aisle – Ice cream area You want to find this… Where do you go? • Breakfast/Cereal Aisle – Cold Cereals What’s the connection to science? • Like a grocery store, we try to organize living things in categories that make sense – Helps everyone find what they need – Makes it easier to describe life • For an example…see the next slide! Scientific name: Mephitis mephitis What is classification? • A way of arranging living things “scientifically” • The arrangement of organisms into groups based on their relationship to each other. • Taxonomy—branch of science that classifies organisms and assigns each a universally accepted name. – Not to be mistaken for… Taxidermy! Why classify? • People naturally look for patterns, so do scientists in living things. • Note: classification systems change with our new knowledge of living things (and even well known organisms.) – Example: Obtaining DNA information rearranged the “tree of life” big time! Who began classifying organisms? • Carlus Linnaeus (AKA: Carl von Linné…he’s Swedish) is the father of taxonomy – Lived from 1707-1778 • Created binomial nomenclature – Genus and species name – Homo sapien – Escherichia coli Creating Order from Chaos • Logical names created – Tacitus bellus • “Silent bell” • Tacit = silent • Bell = flower’s shape – Helianthus giganteus • “Giant Sunflower” • Helio = sun • Gigantic = giant Science Names vs. Common Names • Ailurus fulgens • Red Panda – Misnamed…it’s NOT a panda! • Closer to racoons • CLOSEST to weasels Top Level of Organizations… • Domains – 3 Domains: Eubacteria, Archaea and Eukarota • Kingdoms – Currently 6 kingdoms – Use to be only 5 Taxonomic Classification • Kingdom • Phylum • Class • Order • Family • Genus • Species 6 Kingdom Overview • • • • • • Eubacteria Archaeabacteria Protista Fungi Plantae Animalia Bacteria/Eubacteria (=true bacteria) Archaeabacteria Protista Fungi Plantae Animalia What group do you think has the most living species on earth today? • • • • • • • • Flowers Fungi Bacteria Insects Mammals Protists Trees Archaeabacteria Recap…What does classification allow us to do? • Understand how living things are related! Cladograms/Phylogenetic Trees