1. Classifying Life
5.2

2. Binomial Nomenclature
Carolus Linnaeus devised a system for grouping organisms called binomial nomenclature- two-part naming system
Genus- the first word in an organism’s name is the genus- groups similar, closely related organisms
Species- the second word in an organism’s name is the species- group of similar organisms that can mate with each other and produce offspring
Binomial Nomenclature

3. The scientific name is written in italics with only the first name (genus) capitalized.
Ex. Felis domesticus (house cat)

4. Make a Foldable of the Levels
As you move down
these levels, the num-
ber of organisms
decreases. The organ-
isms that remain
share more traits with
each other.
Make a Foldable of the Levels

5. Taxonomic Keys are Useful
Taxonomic keys consist of a series of paired statements that describe the various physical characteristics of different organisms.
Taxonomic Keys are Useful

6. Jelly Bean Lab In groups, classify the jelly beans.
Answer the following questions in your interactive notebook:
•What did you use to determine what flavor of bean you had?
•What did you do to determine if you were correct?
•What other things do we classify?
•Why would we want to classify things?

7. Buttons, buttons, buttons…
Construct a dichotomous key, using a large characteristic (e.g., four holes in button, two holes in button, or shank) to begin the process.
Then create a subgroup and continue to construct the key using the jelly bean taxonomic key as a guide.
Buttons, buttons, buttons…