Principles of taxonomy

Question 1

Define classification

Answer 1

the way in which living organisms are divided into groups

Question 2

Define taxonomy

Answer 2

the scientific practice of grouping organisms based on shared characteristics

Question 3

Define the term phylogenetic

Answer 3

based on evolutionary history of organisms i.e. their common ancestry

Question 4

how many taxonomic ranks are there?

Answer 4

8

Question 5

what does the term hierarchical mean?

Answer 5

it consists of large groups that are divided into progressively smaller groups, and there is no overlap between groups

Question 6

what is the largest taxonomic group?

Answer 6

domain

Question 7

name all the taxonomic ranks in descending order of size in the hierarchical system

Answer 7

domain
kingdom
phylum
class
order
family
genus
species

Question 8

what doe the term non overlapping mean ?

Answer 8

each organism can only appear in one particular group at a taxonomic level

Question 9

how many levels are there in domain?

Answer 9

3

Question 10

how many levels are there in kingdom?

Answer 10

6

Question 11

give the names of the 6 kingdoms

Answer 11

bacteria
archaea
proctoctisa
fungi
plants 
animals

Question 12

how do you write the biological name of a species?

Answer 12

genus and species names
genus is first and always has a capital letter
species is second and always has a small letter
normally printed in italics

Question 13

describe what the phylogenic system does

Answer 13

reflects evolutionary relationship between organisms

looking at the similarities and differences in structure and function

Question 14

describe how the phylogenic system is presented and what it means

Answer 14

phylogenic tree
each branch represents where divergence has occurred
the closer the branches, the closer the evolutionary relationship, therefore the more recently the shared a common ancestor

Question 15

what technologies have been useful in aiding the process of classifying organisms?

Answer 15

genome sequencing
comparing amino acid sequences
immunological comparisons

Question 16

define the term species

Answer 16

a species is a group of organisms of similar characteristics that are capable of interbreeding to produce fertile offspring

Question 17

how do u know if two organisms belong to the same species?

Answer 17

they have the potential to breed with each other

their offspring are fertile

Question 18

suggest a reason why the cells of a mule , which have 63 chromosomes , are unable to undergo meiosis and so cannot produce gametes

Answer 18

• during meiosis one chromosome from each pair goes into each gamete
• however 63 is and odd number so cannot be halved. the chromosomes are not all in pairs
• meiosis cannot be completed

Question 19

what are the problems of classifying organisms as distinct species

Answer 19

• extinct species greatly outnumber the living ones
• species did not leave fossils
• if we only see a fossil we cannot see if the offspring produced are fertile
• considerable variation in any one species
• the ability to interbreed cannot be tested on a sexual organisms