Classification Vocab

Question 1

Classification

Answer 1

the action or process of classifying something according to shared qualities or characteristics.

Question 2

Taxonomy

Answer 2

the branch of science concerned with classification, especially of organisms; systematics

Question 3

Binomial nomenclature

Answer 3

the system of nomenclature in which two terms are used to denote a species of living organism, the first one indicating the genus and the second the specific epithet.

Question 4

Taxon

Answer 4

a taxonomic group of any rank, such as a species, family, or class.

Question 5

Genus

Answer 5

a principal taxonomic category that ranks above species and below family, and is denoted by a capitalized Latin name

Question 6

Family

Answer 6

a principal taxonomic category that ranks above genus and below order, usually ending in -idae (in zoology) or -aceae (in botany).

Question 7

Order

Answer 7

a principal taxonomic category that ranks below class and above family.

Question 8

Class

Answer 8

a principal taxonomic grouping that ranks above order and below phylum or division, such as Mammalia or Insecta.

Question 9

Phylum

Answer 9

a principal taxonomic category that ranks above class and below kingdom.

Question 10

Division

Answer 10

any subsidiary category between major levels of classification.

Question 11

Kingdom

Answer 11

the highest category in taxonomic classification.

Question 12

Domain

Answer 12

a specified sphere of activity or knowledge.

Question 13

Phylogeny

Answer 13

the branch of biology that deals with phylogenesis.

Question 14

Characters

Answer 14

a characteristic, especially one that assists in the identification of a species.

Question 15

Molecular clock

Answer 15

the average rate at which a species’ genome accumulates mutations, used to measure their evolutionary divergence and in other calculations.

Question 16

Cladistics

Answer 16

a method of classification of animals and plants according to the proportion of measurable characteristics that they have in common. It is assumed that the higher the proportion of characteristics that two organisms share, the more recently they diverged from a common ancestor.

Question 17

Cladogram

Answer 17

a branching diagram showing the cladistic relationship between a number of species.

Question 18

Archaea

Answer 18

another term for archaebacteria.

Question 19

Protists

Answer 19

are a very diverse group of organisms. They are basically all the organisms that don’t fit into the other groups.

Question 20

Fungus

Answer 20

any of a group of unicellular, multicellular, or syncytial spore-producing organisms feeding on organic matter, including molds, yeast, mushrooms, and toadstools.