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Classification
Classification & Naming
Classwork
1. What is the correct order of the current classification hierarchy, from most general to most specific?
2. Are two organisms in domain more or less closely related than two organisms in the same class?
Explain your answer.
3. What is the benefit of using binomial nomenclature in science?
4. Write the scientific name of humans using appropriate binomial nomenclature.
Homework
5. If two organisms are in the same phylum, do they have to also be in the same kingdom? Explain your
answer.
6. Give the classification of humans from domain to species.
7. A mountain lion, cougar and puma are all the same animal. Use this example to explain the importance
of binomial nomenclature.
8. Who is credited with developing the current system of binomial nomenclature?
Phylogeny & Domains
Classwork
9. What information is used to organize species into a phylogenetic tree?
10. Explain the goal for creating a phylogenetic tree.
11. According to the cladogram to the right, what characteristic(s) are shared by all of the chosen
organisms?
12. According to the cladogram, does a crocodile
share a more recent common ancestor with a blue
jay or a bullfrog?
13. According to the cladogram, what derived trait
separates mammals from the rest of the
organisms?
14. Cladograms place a high level of importance on
the development of derived traits. Explain why, in
terms of classification, this could possible pose a
problem.
15. Explain the major cellular similarity that exists
between domain Archaea and domain Eubacteria
but differs between these two and Eukarya.
16. What cellular organelle exists in members of all
three domains? Explain, in your own terms, why
this similarity exists.
17. Even though many protists are unicellular, they are
classified in the Eukarya domain. Justify the classification
of protists.
Homework
18. What is the significance of a derived trait in
creating a phylogenetic tree or a cladogram?
19. Would two organisms that are evolutionary closely
related share more or fewer derived traits than two
organisms that are very distantly evolutionarily related?
20. According to the cladogram to the left, which
organisms belong to the clade of carnivores? Explain
your answer
21. Explain how DNA can be used to refine cladistics.
22. Suppose you are studying four organisms for
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purposes of classification. Through DNA analysis, you find that the number of base pair differences
between organism A and the others are as follows: B-35, C-42, D-15. Which most likely shares the
most recent common ancestry with organism A? Explain your answer.
23. Suppose you discover a new organism in the Brazilian rainforest. This organism is multicellular and
sedentary, lacking any mobility. Describe a simple experiment you could use to determine whether
your organism should be classified as a plant or a fungus.
24. Suppose you discover a new species of prokaryotic organism, but cannot determine in which domain it
belongs. How could you potentially use habitat to help determine your classification?
25. Many people describe protists as having characteristics of plants and animals. Explain why this
statement is true.
26. Under which kingdom would you find the vast majority of multicellular heterotrophs? Explain your
answer.
Kingdom Plantae
Classwork
27. Name 3 characteristics all organisms in the plant kingdom share.
28. What traits are used to break the plant kingdom into phylum?
29. Are liverworts more closely related to mosses or horsetails? Explain your reasoning?
30. What is the purpose of the xylem?
31. You have purchased a flowering plant. How could you determine if this plant is a monocot or a dicot?
32. Roughly 70% of angiosperm species exhibit polyploidy. What does this mean?
Homework
33. Are flowering plants more closely related to whisk ferns or conifers? What evidence supports your
reasoning?
34. Draw a phylogenetic tree for the four categories of plant phyla.
35. What is the purpose of the phloem?
36. You have a tree in your backyard. How could you determine if it is an angiosperm or a gymnosperm?
37. Draw a phylogenetic tree for the following species: Rose, Common Daisy, Eastern Red Cedar, and
Easter Lily (use the internet).
Kingdom Animalia
Classwork
38. What was the ‘Cambrian Explosion?’
39. Suppose you discover a new species of organism in the rainforest. This organism is a highly complex,
predatory reptile. What type of symmetry would you suggest this organism demonstrates? Why?
40. Could you correctly say that a jellyfish has a skeleton? Explain your answer.
41. What is the difference between a coelom and a pseudocoelom?
42. Explain, using DNA as evidence, how even though two organisms may look very similar in appearance,
such as a salamander and a lizard, they may exist quite far apart on a phylogenetic tree.
Homework
43. Explain why, if all animal phyla evolved from organisms that existed 600 million years ago during the
pre-Cambrian period, that animals today bear little resemblance at all to animals that existed during that
time.
44. In surveying all of the species of organisms on planet
Earth, are invertebrates or vertebrates more
common?
45. Would you predict that a highly developed mammal
would be an acoelomate? Why or why not?
46. According to the cladogram to the right, what derived
trait is present in ray-finned fish but absent in sharks?
47. According to the cladogram, amphibians share a
common ancestry with primates prior to the
development of which derived trait?
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48. Is a frog a mammal? Explain.
Free Response
1. Below is a basic cladogram classifying vertebrates according to some of their shared unique
characteristics. Used this illustration to respond to the prompts below.
a. Complete the table below, based upon the cladogram above, by placing an X in the box if the
organism demonstrates the trait.
Trait
Lungfishes
Amphibians
Mammals
Lizards
&
Snakes
Crocodiles
Ostriches
Hawks
Vertebral
column
Tetrapod
Limbs
Amnion
Feathers
Hair
b. Which of the traits shown above are common to both hawks and mammals?
c. Which of the traits shown above are common to both amphibians and crocodiles?
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2. There are concepts to consider when either constructing or analyzing phylogenetic trees. Explain the
following in relation to phylogenetic trees, in general.
a. Are phylogenetic trees static or are the updated and changed?
b. Identify one type of information, considered new evidence, which is leading to changes in
phylogenetic trees.
c. Describe how this evidence is being used to develop phylogenetic information.
3. Pumpkin is the common name for the species Cucurbita pepo. Use this information and the pictures
above to answer the following questions.
a. What genus does the pumpkin belong to?
b. Identify the pumpkin as an angiosperm or a gymnosperm. Explain your reasoning.
c. Carrots, a dicot, and orchids, a monocot, also belong to the plantae kingdom. To which is the
pumpkin more closely related? What evidence can you use to support your conclusion?
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4. The above phylogenetic tree is referred to as an ultrametric tree because it shows when a species
lived, in addition to how closely related it is to other species.
a. What species are most closely related to the ancestor for all members of the Homo genus?
b. Approximately how long ago did Austrolopithecus anamensis arise?
c. Approximately how long did Homo erectus survive as a species?
d. What type of body plan was most likely exhibited by Homo neanderthalensis?
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Classification Answer Key
1. Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
2. Less closely related. A domain is a much broader level of classification than a class. In order to be in
the same class, two organisms need to share many more characteristics than if they were to share the
same domain.
3. It reduces confusion that exists in common names and provides a consistent method of reference for
biologists. It also makes the names more brief than historically.
4. Homo sapiens
5. Yes. Since phylum is more specific than kingdom, if two organisms are in the same phylum, they must
be in the same kingdom
6. Eukarya, Animalia, Chordata, Mammalia, Primates, Hominidae, Homo, Homo sapiens
7. All of these common names are used for the same organism, which can obviously create confusion.
Binomial nomenclature issues a standard scientific name for every species on the planet and avoids
confusion when referring to species, particularly when different geographies use different names
8. Linnaeus
9. Similar characteristics, DNA, organismal structure
10. Illustrate the evolutionary development of various organisms, and depict the lineage and relationships
that exist among branches of life.
11. Vertebrae
12. Blue jay
13. Hair
14. If the derived trait is not determined carefully, if could be misleading when determining evolutionary
relationships. This is particularly true if a trait is chosen that does not truly separate different groups of
organisms from each other. The development of wings may be an example of this.
15. They are both prokaryotic, whereas Eukarya are eukaryotic.
16. Ribosomes. Cell membrane or cell wall may also be acceptable. All types of cells need these
organelles. Ribosomes produce proteins, which are necessary for gene expression and proper function
of all forms of life. Cell membranes enclose all forms of cells as well. While not all cells have a cell
well, members of all three domains do exhibit a cell wall.
17. Protists contain a nucleus.
18. Derived traits are characteristics used to organize organisms and determine evolutionary relationships
on a phylogenetic tree
19. They would share more derived traits
20. Wolf, leopard and domestic cat are all examples of carnivores and are in the carnivore clade
21. DNA can be used to determine more specific evolutionary relationships that may not be possible using
only derived traits. Therefore, it may help create a more accurate cladogram
22. Organism D. The fewer the differences in DNA, the more recently the organisms diverged from a
common ancestor, and the more closely related they are.
23. Keep the organism in the absence of light. If it can survive in total darkness, it is a fungus, if it cannot, it
may be a plant, but further tests would be required.
24. Prokaryotic organisms are grouped into two domains- archaea and bacteria. Archaeans are typically
found in more extreme environments than bacteria.
25. Protists are all eukaryotic, like plants and animals, and they can be heterotrophic or autotrophic, like
plants and animals
26. Animal kingdom. Archaea and bacteria are prokaryotic. Protists are unicellular. Plants are autotrophic.
Animal diversity is much greater than fungi.
27. Ability to do photosynthesis, chloroplasts, autotrophic, nucleus and other organelles, cell wall, etc.
28. Flowers vs. no flower, vascular vs. non-vascular, seeds vs. no seeds
29. Mosses because they are both non-vascular plants.
30. The xylem is used to transport water up from the roots of the plant.
31. You can determine if it is a monocot or a dicot based on the number of flower petals (multiples of 3 vs.
multiples of 4 or 5), the leaf veins (parallel vs. branched), the number of seed leaves (1 vs. 2), the
vascular bundles (complex vs. ring) or the roots (fibrous vs. taproot).
32. They have more than 2 copies of their chromosomes in every cell.
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33. Conifers, because they are both vascular and seeded.
34. See image.
35. To transport sugars produced in the leaves by photosynthesis to other parts of the plant.
36. By observing if the tree flowers or not. Flowering trees are angiosperms.
37. See image.
38. A period of time during the early Paleozoic period when the diversity of multicellular organisms
experienced a significant increase
39. Most likely bilateral. All vertebrates demonstrate bilateral symmetry, which is typically seen among
more highly advanced organisms.
40. Yes. A jellyfish has a hydrostatic skeleton, in which it uses water to provide support for its body
41. A coelom is completely lined with mesoderm, a pseudocoelom is not
42. DNA trumps all other traits. Even though salamanders and lizards have very similar characteristics,
they are each more closely related to other organisms, which can be determined through DNA analysis
43. The environments that existed at that time were much different than current environments. Species
develop characteristics and evolve adaptations based on the environment in which they exist.
44. Invertebrates, by far
45. No. Acoelomates have fluid filled body cavities and are typically more basic organisms
46. Bony skeleton
47. Amniotic egg
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48. No, it is not endothermic.
1. Phylogeny
Trait
Lungfishes Amphibians
Vertebral
column
Tetrapod
Limbs
Amnion
Mammals
X
X
Lizards
&
Snakes
X
Crocodiles
Ostriches
Hawks
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
x
Feathers
Hair
X
a. See table
b. Vertebral column, tetrapod limbs, amnion
c. Vertebral column, tetrapod limbs
2.
a. Phylogenetic trees are updated and changed as new information is discovered.
b. Molecular homologies, DNA comparisons
c. Similarities in DNA sequence and other molecular homologies are used to determine
relatedness of species which may have many derived characteristics due to adaptation to the
environment.
3. Plants
a. Cucurbita
b. It is an angiosperm because it has flowers.
c. It is more closely related to the carrot because it is also a dicot. This is based on the flower,
which as five petals. The leaf veins, seed leaves, and root system could also be studied to
confirm this.
4. Animals
a. Homo ergaster and/or Homo habilis
b. 4.2 to 4 million years ago
c. 1.7 to 1.8 million years
d. Bilateral coelomate
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