Classification of species and taxonomy

what is the binomial system?

the first name of the organism is the genus and the second name is the species

what is the order of the classification system?

• domain

• kingdom

• phylum

• class

• order

• family

• genus

• species

why do we use classification systems?

understand relationships between organisms a

what was the original method of classification? what is the problem with this?

• based on visible similarities

• some members of the same species can look completely different

• 2 different species may look very similar so they can be mistaken to be the same

what are the more modern and accurate classification methods?

• DNA sequence

• mRNA sequence

• Amino acids sequence

• Immunological - comparing similarity in self-antibody shape

what is the phylogenetic classification system?

arranges species into groups according to their evolutionary origins and relationships

what does phylogeny tell us?

who’s related to whom and how closely related they are

what have all organisms evolved from (according to the phylogenetic classification system) ?

shared common ancestors (relatives). this is shown on phylogenetic tree

how can you tell if 2 organisms belong to the same species?

if they are able to produce fertile offspring