science Flashcards
Classification
the action or process of classifying something according to shared qualities or characteristics.
Taxonomy
the branch of science concerned with classification, especially of organisms; systematics.
Kingdom
The highest classification into which living organisms are grouped in Linnean taxonomy, ranking above a phylum. One widely accepted system of classification divides life into five kingdoms: prokaryotes, protists, fungi, plants, and animals. See Table at taxonomy. The American Heritage® Science Dictionary.
Phylum
a principal taxonomic category that ranks above class and below kingdom.
Class
In biological classification, class (Latin: classis) is: a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks in descending order of size are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, order, family, genus, and species, with class fitting between phylum and order.
Order
a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized by the nomenclature codes. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, family, genus, and species, with order fitting in between class and family.
Family
The family science curriculum provides students with academic experiences focusing on the study of families and relationships in the context of contemporary society. The courses provide training in the scientific methods used to understand family behavior and development across the lifespan.
Genus
a principal taxonomic category that ranks above species and below family, and is denoted by a capitalized Latin name, e.g., Leo.
Species
A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms where two hybrids are capable of reproducing fertile offspring, typically using sexual reproduction.
Animalia
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia. All animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and independently, at some point in their lives. Wikipedia
Chordata
Chordates are animals possessing a notochord, a hollow dorsal nerve cord, pharyngeal slits, an endostyle, and a post-anal tail for at least some period of their life cycles. Wikipedia
Mammalia
Mammals are any members of a clade of endothermic amniotes distinguished from reptiles and birds by the possession of hair, three middle ear bones, mammary glands, and a neocortex. Wikipedia
Primate
A primate is a mammal of the order Primates. In taxonomy, primates include two distinct lineages, strepsirrhines and haplorhines. Wikipedia
Hominid
The Hominidae, also known as great apes or hominids, are a taxonomic family of primates that includes seven extant species in four genera: Pongo, the Bornean and Sumatran orangutan; Gorilla, the eastern
Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as Carl von Linné, was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern biological naming scheme of binomial nomenclature.
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 item. “Dichotomous” means “divided into two parts”.
Domain
In biological taxonomy, a domain (also superregnum, superkingdom, empire, or regio) is the highest taxonomic rank of organisms in the three-domain system of taxonomy designed by Carl Woese, an American microbiologist and biophysicist.
Archaebacteria
The Archaea constitute a domain or kingdom of single-celled microorganisms. These microbes are prokaryotes, meaning that they have no cell nucleus or any other membrane-bound organelles in their cells.
Bacteria
Bacteria constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a number of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals. Wikipedia
Protista
In some biological taxonomy schemes, protists were a large group of diverse eukaryotic, mainly unicellular microorganisms, that do not form tissues. Formerly, these were assigned to the now-obsolete kingdom Protista.
Fungi
A fungus is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes unicellular microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as multicellular fungi that produce familiar fruiting forms known as mushrooms.
Plantae
Plants, also called green plants, are multicellular eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. They form an unranked clade Viridiplantae that includes the flowering plants, conifers and other gymnosperms, and ferns.
