Scientific Classification

Archaebacteria

Kingdom made up of unicellular prokaryotes ( which are known to live in extreme environments) that have cell walls; can be autotrophic or heterotrophic

Eubacteria

Kingdom made up of prokaryotic, unicellular organisms that can be either autotrophic or heterotrophic; may cause disease

Protista

Kingdom of mostly unicellular, eukaryotic organisms that are different from plants, animals, archae, bacteria and fungi

Fungi

Kingdom made up of non-green, eukaryotic organisms. They have no means of movement, and absorb nutrients

Plantae

Kingdom made up of multi-cellular organisms that are usually green, have cell walls made up of cellulose, cannot move around, make food through photosynthesis

Animalia

Kingdom made up of complex, multi-cellular organisms that lack cell walls, can usually move around, can quickly respond to their environment.

Eukarya

Domain of all organisms whose cells have nuclei, including protists, plants, fungi, and animals

Archae

Domain made up of prokaryotes that may have a cell wall and live in extreme enviornments (oceans or soil)

Bacteria

Domain made up of prokaryotes that usually have a cell wall and reproduce by cell division. They live in almost every environment

Domain

a taxonomic category above the kingdom level. The three domains are Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya.

Kingdom

a taxonomic category, the second broadest after domain.

Taxonomy

a field of biology that studies how living things are classified.

Scientific Names

Genus + species. The first letter of the Genus is always capitalized and the first letter of the species is always lowercase.

Genus

a group of closely related species, and the first part of the scientific name in binomial nomenclature

Species

a group of organisms that are physically similar and can mate with each other and produce offspring

Classification

Is the arrangement of organisms in orderly groups based on their similarities.

Carolus Linnaeus

(1707-1778) Founder of taxonomy, the branch of biology concerned with naming and classifying organisms. Developed two part system of naming organisms.

Binomial Nomenclature

A system for giving each organism a two-word scientific name that consists of the genus name followed by the species name

Dichotomous Key

A dichotomous key is a tool that allows the user to determine the identity of items in the natural world, such as trees, wildflowers, mammals, reptiles, rocks, and fish. Keys consist of a series of choices that lead the user to the correct name of a given