B2-Understanding Our Environment Flashcards
What is natural classification based on?
Evolutionary relationships and genetic similarities between organisms.
What is artificial classification based on?
The appearance of the animal.
Why is classification important?
It helps us to understand how organisms are related and how they interact with each other.
What are the kingdoms?
Animals, Plants, Fungi, Protoctists, Prokaryotes
After kingdom , what other groups are organisms divided into?
Phylum , class, order, family, genus, species
What is a species?
Organisms capable of interbreeding to produce fertile offspring.
Why may the classification system needed to be adapted?
Organism can display features of more than one category. Also DNA sequencing may show that some organisms are not as closely related as suspected.
What are three problems with definition of a species?
Hybrids as they are often infertile. Asexual reproduction is not interbreeding. Evolution is a continuous process, when has an organism changed enough to be considered a new species?
What is the binomial system?
It is when each organism is given a two part Latin name. The first part is the genus then the species.
Why is the binomial system used?
Scientists all over the world can refer to the same organism with the same name.
