How Scientists Classify Things

Scientists Start Classifying Things by… Living Non - Living

But there are so many living things… We must classify them more…

Classification System Scientists start by breaking plants/animals into kingdoms. Scientist continue to sort these groups into even smaller groups. Each time they sort, they use the organism’s features to decide whether or not the organism belongs to the group. The largest classification group would be the “kingdom”

Scientists classify all living things into six major categories called kingdoms. An organism may be classified according to the number of cells and cell parts it has, where it lives, and how it obtains food.

Example how Scientists organize the Animal Kingdom All animals belong to the same kingdom. Scientists use the smallest two groups to name organisms. A genus is a group of closely related living things. A species is a group of similar organisms that can mate produce offspring.

Scientists divide the animal kingdom into two main groups.

We then break up vertebrates and invertebrates

Mammals have fur or hair breathe with lungs feed their young milk

Mammals Echidna Dolphins Platypus Orangutan Bat

Birds have two legs most fly with wings hatch from eggs

Black-capped chickadee Birds Penguins Eagle Black-capped chickadee

Fish live only in water breathe with gills are born live or hatch eggs

Fish Salmon Great-white shark Bubble-eyed goldfish

Reptiles land animals that have scales has lungs for breathing hatches from eggs

Reptiles Sea turtle Corn snake Alligator lizard

Amphibians Animals that usually live first on water and later on land lay eggs have moist skin

AMPHIBIANS Amazon Horned Frog Cave Salamander Caecilians

Who am I???? I have two legs. I fly with wings. I hatch from eggs.

Who am I? I have fur or hair. I feed my young milk. I breathe with lungs.

Who am I? I live only in water. I breathe with gills. My young are born live or hatched from eggs.

What am I? Mammal, Bird, Fish, Amphibian or Reptile? I am a mammal. My body is warm and furry. I feed my babies on milk. I give birth to live young.

What am I? Mammal, Bird, Fish, Amphibian or Reptile? I am a mammal. My body is covered in hair, or fur. I feed my babies on milk. I give birth to live young.

What am I? Mammal, Bird, Fish, Amphibian or Reptile? I am an amphibian. My body is moist and smooth. I lay eggs. I like to live in or near to water.

What am I? Mammal, Bird, Fish, Amphibian or Reptile? I am a bird. My body is warm and covered with feathers. I lay eggs which hatch out into chicks.

What am I? Mammal, Bird, Fish, Amphibian or Reptile? Although I have wings, I am in fact a mammal. My body is covered in hair, not feathers. I feed my babies on milk. I do not lay eggs.

What am I? Mammal, Bird, Fish, Amphibian or Reptile? I am a mammal. If you stand very close to me, you will see I have hairs on my body. I feed my babies on milk. I do not lay eggs.

What am I? Mammal, Bird, Fish, Amphibian or Reptile? I am a reptile. My body is covered in dry scales. I lay eggs.

What am I? Mammal, Bird, Fish, Amphibian or Reptile? I am a bird. My body is warm and covered with feathers. I lay eggs which hatch out into chicks.

What am I? Mammal, Bird, Fish, Amphibian or Reptile? I am a fish. My body is cold to touch and is covered in scales. I lay eggs. I use gills to breathe with under water.

What am I? Mammal, Bird, Fish, Amphibian or Reptile? I am a reptile. My body is covered in dry scales. I lay eggs.

What am I? Mammal, Bird, Fish, Amphibian or Reptile? I am an amphibian. My body is moist and smooth. I lay eggs. I like to live in or near to water.

What am I? Mammal, Bird, Fish, Amphibian or Reptile? I am a mammal. My body is warm and furry. I feed my babies on milk. I give birth to live young.

What am I? Mammal, Bird, Fish, Amphibian or Reptile? I am a reptile. My body is covered in dry scales. I lay eggs.

What am I? Mammal, Bird, Fish, Amphibian or Reptile? I am a fish. My body is cold to touch and is covered in scales. I lay eggs. I use gills to breathe with under water.

Invertebrates Animals that are ______________________ have NO backbone Most of the animals in the world are invertebrates.

I can identify how plants are classified I can classify plants

How are plants classified? We start with… How they transport water and nutrients: Vascular or Non-Vascular

Vascular Plants – Have tube like structures that transport water and nutrients Can grow tall Celery Ferns

Non-Vascular Plants – Pass nutrients from one cell to the next Low to the ground Moss

Vascular –vs- Nonvascular

After sorting vascular and non vascular… We sort those by: How they reproduce: Seeds or Spores

Example how Scientists organize the Plant Kingdom Scientists sort plants in a variety of ways, based on how they transport water and nutrients or how they reproduce. Vascular plants have tubelike structures that transport water and nutrients within the plant. Ex: Bamboo & Trees Nonvascular plants grow low to the grown and can pass water and nutrients only from one cell to the next. Ex: Moss & Hornworts

Classifying Plants by flowers, seeds, and spores Flowering plants and cone-bearing plants reproduce by producing seeds. Ferns and mosses reproduce by producing spores.

Ferns and mosses reproduce by producing spores. Fern with spores