Taxonomy and Evolution Flashcards
What is classification?
The process by which scientists group organisms into related groups
What is a taxon?
a category of organisms determined by similar characteristics
List the taxons using this acronym: Dumb King Phillip Came Over For Great Spaghetti
Domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus species
What is the missing requirement for an organism to be considered alive: made of cells, grows and changes, ____________, able to reproduce, obtains and uses energy, evolves and adapts
responds to stimuli
Digestion, gas exchange, and locomotion are examples of what?
Life functions
How many life functions are there?
8
What are the four general types of characteristics that scientists look at when determining an organism’s taxon?
external structures, internal structures, embryology, and genetics
What is binomial nomenclature?
It’s the two-part official name of an organism. It’s made of the genus and species (ex. Homo sapiens = humans; homo= genus, sapiens=species)
Which is bigger: a kingdom or a class?
kingdom
Which is smaller: a family or an order?
family
What are the three domains?
archaea, bacteria, eukarya
What are the six kingdoms?
Animalia, Fungi, Plantae, Protista, Archaebacteria, Eubacteria
Which phylum contains the vertebrates (animals with a spine)?
Chordata
Are the organisms in the kingdoms Animalia, Fungi, and Plantae, and Protista prokaryotic or eukaryotic?
eukaryotic, which means their cells have nuclei containing DNA
What class do we (humans) belong to?
Mammalia
What are some of the characteristics of Mammalia?
live birth to offspring, hair/fur, and produce milk to feed offspring from mammary glands
Are there ever exceptions to the taxonomic system?
Yes; the purpose of the system to create some order out of millions of species, not to try to fit each and every species exactly where it needs to go
What is evolution?
Evolution is the change in a species over time
What causes evolution?
mutation, natural selection, and changes in environment
Does a single organism ever evolve?
No; a single organism adapts. Species evolve when useful adaptations get passed down to the following generations.
What is the term for how many individuals in a species have or do not have a particular characteristic?
the frequency of traits
Charles Darwin is known for studying what particular feature of evolution?
natural selection
What is natural selection?
It is “nature’s choice”; the way an organism’s environment determines what traits will help it survive and allows for those traits to be passed on to the next generation
What does “survival of the fittest” mean?
It means that the organism with the traits that give it the best advantage in its environment is more likely to survive and pass on its traits
