Download Diversity of Living Things – Study GuideTest: Oct.29, 2015

Diversity of Living Things – Study GuideTest: Oct.29, 2015
CAROLUS LINNAEUS was an 18th century Swedish scientist. He classified plants
and animals according to similarities in form. He divided living things into one of
two "kingdoms" -plant and animal. He divided each of the kingdoms into smaller
groups called "genera" (plural of "genus"). Then he divided each genera into smaller
groups called "species".
He also designed a system of naming organisms called binomial ("two names")
nomenclature ("system of naming") which gave each organism 2 names –
genus (plural = genera) and species (plural = species) names. The genus and species
names would be similar to your first and last names. Genus is always capitalized
while species is never capitalized. To be written correctly, the scientific name must
be either underlined or written in italics. His classification system is still used today;
however, we use a 6 kingdom system (instead of 2 kingdom system.)
Classification has been called the science of finding patterns. Classifying helps
scientists identify, study, group, and name organisms. Today the system of
classification divides all organisms into six major groups called kingdoms. The
broadest group an organism is classified into is a kingdom. Rather than outward
characteristics, such as color, kingdoms are grouped by internal form and structure.
Scientists classify organisms into kingdoms by carefully comparing their cells,
tissues, organs, and organ systems.
Both horses and spiders are found in the animal kingdom, but they have
little in common. Clearly, more and smaller groups are needed to fully
classify an organism. Scientists use six subgroups to classify within kingdoms.
These subgroups are:
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Diversity of Living Things – Study GuideTest: Oct.29, 2015
Animals
The animal kingdom is the largest kingdom with over 1 million known species.
All animals are multicellular, or consist of many complex cells. They are
also heterotrophs. Heterotrophs do not make their own food. Animals must consume other
organism to get energy. Also, animal cells do not have cell walls. Many animals are capable of
moving from place to place. The animal kingdom features nine phyla that belong to two major
groups, vertebrates and invertebrates. A vertebrate is an animal with a backbone. An
invertebrate is an animal without a backbone.
Animals:
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

Multicellular
Heterotrophic (do not make their own food)
Eukaryotic (nucleus)
Complex organs with no cell wall
Specialized sense organs
Vertebrates or Invertebrates
Sumatran Tiger - Kingdom:
Animalia, Phylum, Chordata, Class
Mammalia, Order Carnivora, Family
Felidae, Genus Pathera, Species tigris
Plants
You are probably quite familiar with the members of this kingdom
as it contains all the plants that you have come to know
- flowering plants, mosses, and ferns. Plants are all
multicellular and consist of complex cells.
With over 250,000 species, the plant kingdom is the second largest
kingdom. Plant species range from the tiny green mosses
to giant trees.
Plants can either be vascular or non-vascular. Vascular plants have a system of tubes that
conduct water, sap, and nutrients. Non-vascular plants have no tubes to transport water, sap,
and nutrients. Examples of nonvascular plants include liverwort, hornwort, and moss
Without plants, life on Earth would not exist! Plants feed almost all the heterotrophs
(organisms that eat other organisms) on Earth. Wow!
Plants:
 Multicellular
 Autotrophic (make
their own food)
 Eukaryotic (nucleus)
 Vascular or non-vascular
Diversity of Living Things – Study GuideTest: Oct.29, 2015
Fungi
Mushrooms, mold and mildew are all examples of organisms in the kingdom fungi. Most fungi
are multicellular and consists of many complex cells. Fungi are organisms that biologists
once confused with plants, however, unlike plants, fungi cannot make their own
food. Most obtain their food from parts of plants that are decaying in the soil.
Fungi Fun Fact: Some fungi taste great and others can kill you!
Fungi:
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


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Multicellular
Heterotrophic (do not make their own
Eukaryotic (nucleus)
Live on land or fresh water
Most “eat” dead or decaying organisms
food)
Protists
Slime, molds, and algae are protists. Sometimes they are called the odds and ends kingdom
because its members are so different from one another. Protists include all microscopic
organisms that are not bacteria, not animals, not plants and not fungi.
Most protists are unicellular (they only have one cell). You may be wondering why those
protists are not classified in the Archaebacteria or Eubacteria kingdoms. It is because, unlike
bacteria, protists are complex cells.
Protists:
 Unicellular or multicellular
 Can be either autotrophic (make their own food) or heterotrophic (can’t make their
own food)
 Eukaryotic (cells have a nucleus)
 Most protists are microscopic and live in water
 “Odds and Ends”
Diversity of Living Things – Study GuideTest: Oct.29, 2015
Eubacteria
Eubacteria are classified in their own kingdom because their chemical makeup is different than
archaebacteria. Like archaebacteria, eubacteria are unicellular. All eubacteria are prokaryotic,
meaning that their cells have no nucleus. Eubacteria can come in many different forms. You will
find them to be oval or spherical in many instances. Certain bacteria, like streptococcus, which
causes strep throat, can be round as well.
Eubacteria:
 Unicellular
 Can be either autotrophic (make their own food) or
heterotrophic (can’t make their own food)
 Prokaryotic (no nucleus)
 Can be helpful (yogurt) or make you sick (strep)
Most eubacteria are
helpful. Some produce vitamins
and foods like yogurt. However,
some eubacteria cause sickness
and disease. The eubacteria
pictured above, Streptococci, can
give you strep throat! In your
body there are more eubacteria
than there are people in the world!
Archaebacteria
In 1983, scientists took samples from a spot deep in the Pacific Ocean where hot gases and
molten rock boiled into the ocean form the Earth’s interior. To their surprise they discovered
unicellular (one cell) organisms in the samples. These organisms are today classified in the
kingdom, Archaebacteria.
Archaebacteria often live in extreme conditions that were once considered inhospitable to life.
They can be found in the deep-sea hydrothermal vents in the Pacific
Ocean. These deep-sea archaebacteria make up the bottom of the food
chain for clams, tube worms, mussels, and other animals that live near the
vents.
Scientists initially found archaebacteria only in harsh environments, but
recently these microorganisms have been found in the guts of animals,
compost piles, saturated marshes, and other common places.
Archaebacteria:
 Unicellular
 Can be either autotrophic (make their own food) or
heterotrophic (can’t make their own food)
 Prokaryotic (no nucleus)
 First found in deep-sea hot springs
archae- is a prefix meaning
“ancient”. It adds
the meaning 'ancient', with
the implication of
something not just being
old, but being the 'first', to
words to which it is
attached. Archaebacteria is
the “first bacteria.”