Life, as we call it.

I suppose that before we talk about life, we should somehow name it….

Classifying Organisms §You have at least a two part name…..your first, and your last. §For example, George Washington. l First name George, last name Washington. l …..Duh!

Classifying Organisms §Scientist also give two part names to organisms. This two part name is called…. §Binomial Nomenclature. l A two part naming system.

Classifying Organisms. §In the case of George Washington, the name describes a person named George of the family Washington. §In the cases naming organisms, it’s similar but a little different.

Classifying Organisms. §Let’s use the common house cat as an example… §Felis domesticus. §The first part of the name is called…. §Genus l First name (always capital case) l refers to similar closely related organisms

Classifying Organisms. §Continuing Felis domesticus §The second name is the……. §Species l A group of organisms that can mate and produce fertile offspring in nature. l Lower case

Classifying Organisms. §So, in the case of Felis domesticus (the common house cat) Felis is the genus and domesticus is the species. §You can tell the house cat is related to the puma because the puma’s scientific name is Felis concolor. §Both from the same genus.

Classifying Organisms. §As it turns out, there is more than just a genus and species involved in naming organisms. In fact there are 7 steps or levels in classifying organisms.

The seven levels of classification. §1 - Kingdom Kings §2 - Phylum Play §3 - Class Cards §4 - OrderOn §5 - FamilyFat §6 - GenusGreen §7 - SpeciesStools

The seven levels of classification. §How ‘bout a human l Kingdom - Animalia l Phylum - Chordata l Class - Vertebrata l Order - Mammalia l Family - Primates l Genus - Homo l Species - sapiens

The seven levels of classification. §How can this easily be applied to identify an organism? §Scientist and others will frequently use a… §Taxonomic Key l A series of paired statements that describe physical characteristics.

The seven levels of classification. §Taxonomic Key Example Web site

The Kingdoms §There are a total of 6 Kingdoms for all life based on their cell type, ability to make food and cell number.

The Kingdoms §1. Archaebacteria. §2. Eubacteria. §3. Protist. §4. Fungi. §5. Plants. §6. Animals.

The Kingdoms §1. Archaebacteria l “Ancient Bacteria” l Unicellular Prokaryote l Found in boiling hot vents….and you. l autotrophs and heterotrophs

The Kingdoms §2. Eubacteria l Unicellular Prokaryote l Different cell chemistry from Archaebacteria l autotrophs and heterotrophs

The Kingdoms §3. Protist l Mostly unicellular eukaryote Seaweeds and other colony organisms are exceptions l autotrophs and heterotrophs

The Kingdoms §4. Fungi l Mostly multicellular eukaryotes l All are heterotrophs l Mushrooms, molds and mildew….yuck

The Kingdoms §5. Plants l All multicellular eukaryotes l Autotrophs …Yes I know, what about venus fly traps and such

The Kingdoms §There are about 9 Phylums (divisions) of plants. Moss, whiskferns, horsetails, ferns, cyads, maidenhair trees, pine trees, roses, and gnetophytes, which are cone-bearing desert plants.

Bryophyta Moss

Phylum: Psilotophyta

Sphenophyta horsetails

Phylum Pterophyta = ferns:

Phylum Cycads

phylum Ginkgophyta

Coniferophyta

Magnoliophyta (Angiospermae)

The Kingdoms §6. Animals l We’ll cover this in greater detail shortly