Taxonomy The classification of all living things based on their characteristics.

LEVELS OF CLASSIFICATION Domain Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species Do Kids Pick Candy Over Fancy Green Salads? You may want to have students draw a pyramid and draw 6 horizontal lines across to divide the pyramid up into 7 sections. Then have the students list the 7 taxonomic categories from bottom to top, starting with Kingdom at the bottom in the widest section and ending with species at the top in the smallest section.

Domain One of the three largest groups that all living things fall into.

Kingdom In taxonomy, a group of similar phyla or divisions. Large and very general category in taxonomy.

Classification Example http://www.conservenature.org/learn_about_wildlife/chimpanzees/chimp_taxonomy.htm

The Six Kingdoms When Linnaeus developed his system of classification, there were only two kingdoms, Plants and Animals. But the use of the microscope led to the discovery of new organisms and the identification of differences in cells. A two-kingdom system was no longer useful.   Today the system of classification includes six kingdoms. The Six Kingdoms: Plants, Animals, Protists, Fungi, Archae, bacteria. How are organism placed into their kingdoms? Cell type, complex or simple Their ability to make food The number of cells in their body

Plants Plants You are probably quite familiar with the members of this kingdom as it contains all the plants that you have come to know - flowering plants, mosses, and ferns. Plants are all multicellular and consist of complex cells.   In addition plants are autotrophs, organisms that make their own food. With over 250,000 species, the plant kingdom is the second largest kingdom. Plant species range from the tiny green mosses to giant trees. Without plants, life on Earth would not exist! Plants feed almost all the heterotrophs (organisms that eat other organisms) on Earth. Wow!  

Prokaryote Any unicellular organism that has no nuclear membrane, no membrane bound organelles in the cytoplasm, but does contain ribosomes.

Production of offspring from only one parent organism. Asexual Reproduction Production of offspring from only one parent organism. Bacteria, cell reproduction.

Eukaryote any organism having a cell type that contains specialized organelles in the cytoplasm, a membrane-bound nucleus enclosing genetic material organized into chromosomes

Sexual Reproduction Production of offspring from the combination of genetic material from two parent organisms. Sperm fertilizing eggs; plants (seeds) and animals.

An organism that makes its own food. Autotroph An organism that makes its own food.

Heterotroph An organism that gets its food by eating other organisms.

Number of Cells Unicellular-an organism one cell big Multicellular-an organism made of many cells