Biological Classification

Comprehensive Biology flashcards that you would need for IAT or NCERT! Revise only from the "Answer with Definition" option, for question types, choose only "Flashcards". I've included both ways. Let me know if you would like to change or add something!

Who is the father of Biology?

Aristotle

Who coined the term “Biology”? In what year?

Lamarck and Treviranus in 1802.

Who is the father of Botany?

Theophrastus

Who is the Father of Zoology?

Aristotle

What is Classification?

An arrangement of living organisms according to their common characteristics and placing the group within taxonomic hierarchy.

What is Taxonomy?

The branch of science which deals with characterisation, identification, classification, and nomenclature of organisms is called taxonomy.

What is the meaning of Monophyletic?

One Ancestry

What is the meaning of Polyphyletic?

the organism derived from two ancestors

What is the meaning of Paraphyletic?

the organism does not include all the descendents of common ancestor.

The Five-Kingdom Classification was proposed by?

RH Whittaker

What are the five kingdoms under Five-Kingdom Classification?

1. Monera

2. Protista

3. Fungi

4. Animalia

5. Plantae

The Two-Kingdom Classification was proposed by?

Carolus Linnaeus

What was the basis of the Two-Kingdom Classification?

Based on presence or absence of cell wall.

What were the merits of Two-Kingdom Classification?

Photosynthetic organisms were included into plant kingdom and non-photosynthetic organisms were included into animal kingdom.

What were the demerits of Two-Kingdom Classification?

Some organisms do not fall naturally either into plant or animal kingdom or share characteristics of both.

Who proposed the Three-Kingdom Classification?

Ernst Haeckel

What were the three kingdoms under Three-Kingdom Classification?

1. Animalia

2. Plantae

3. Protista

What were the merits of Three-Kingdom Classification?

Created a third kingdom which includes unicellular eukaryotic microorganisms and some multicellular organisms.

What were the demerits of Three-Kingdom Classification?

Monerans were not placed correctly.

Who proposed the Four-Kingdom Classification?

Copeland

What were the four kingdoms under Four-Kingdom Classification?

1. Monera

2. Protista

3. Animalia

4. Plantae

What were the merits of Four-Kingdom Classification?

Monerans were placed separately along with other kingdoms.

What were the demerits of Four-Kingdom Classification?

Monerans were not subdivided in Archaebacteria and Eubacteria.

Who proposed Six-Kingdom Classification?

Carl Woese

What are the six kingdoms under Six-Kingdom Classification?

1. Archaebacteria

2. Eubacteria

3. Protista

4. Fungi

5. Animalia

6. Plantae

What were the three domains under the Three-Domain (Six-Kingdom) Classification?

1. Archaebacteria

2. Eubacteria

3. Eukarya

What are the merits of the Six-Kingdom Classification?

Archaebacteria and Eubacteria were separately placed.

What is the characteristic of Kingdom Monera?

Prokaryotic, Unicellular Organisms

Bacteria do not contain cell wall. True or false?

False, bacteria DO contain cell wall.

Theee are approximately ______ species of bacteria, with cosmopolitan occurrence.

4000

An average weight human (~ 70 kg) has about _____ kg of bacteria in the form of gut microflora to supplement the proper digestion and other metabolic functions.

2.5

Archaebacteria have a cell wall made up of:

protein and non-cellulosic polysaccharides.

(pseudo-murein)

How does the cell wall in archaebacteria differ from other cell walls?

Most cell walls have ester-linkage, but cell walls in archaebacteria have ether-linkage.

Cell walls in archaebacteria also have branched lipids

Which bacteria help in the production of biogas?

Methanogens

Where are methanogens found?

1. in marshy areas

2. in guts of people/cows/whatever

Archaebacteria are the group of most primitive prokaryote. True or false?

true.

What makes Archaebacteria a unique subsection of Bacteria?

The presence of 16 srRNA, makes them unique and helps in placing in a separate domain called archaea between bacteria and eukarya.

Archaebacteria are also known as __________, because they represent the earliest form of life on earth.

living fossils

Why are archaebacteria known as living fossils?

because they represent the earliest form of life on earth.

Name three things Archaebacteria can be used for.

1. Experimentation for absorption of solar radiation.

2. Production of gobar gas from dung and sewage.

3. Fermentation of cellulose in ruminants.

Why are Eubacteria known as “true bacteria”?

Eubacteria are ‘true bacteria’ which lack nucleus and membrane bound organalles like mitochondria, chloroplasts, etc.

What is the mode of nutrition of cyanobacteria?

they are photosynthetic autotrophs

Why are cyanobacteria photosynthetic autotrophs?

they have chlorophyll-a pigment similar to plants

What habitats are cyanobacteria found in?

freshwater/marine/terrestrial

What are heterocysts?

specialised cells in cyanobacteria that fix nitrogen

why do heterocysts have thick cell walls?

To prevent oxygen from entering the cells, as the enzyme nitrogenase is sensitive to oxygen

What is this organism called?

Nostoc

Imagine a diagram of Nostoc

Which two cyanobacteria contain heterocysts?

1. anabaena

2. nostoc

How do saprophytic bacteria contribute to nutrient cycling?

1. they break down organic matter into smaller compounds

2. they oxidise aforementioned smaller compounds, using the energy released for themselves and letting the byproducts (nutrients) release into the soil

3. the nutrients in the soil are then used by other plants when growing

What are these bacteria called?

cocci

imagine cocci

What are these bacteria called?

bacilli

imagine bacilli

what are these bacteria called?

spirilla

imagine spirilla

what are these bacteria called?

vibrio

imagine vibrio

name 4 diseases caused by heterotrophic eubacteria

1. Cholera

2. Typhoid

3. Citrus Canker

4. Tetanus

What is Nutrition?

The process of acquiring energy and nutrients, is called nutrition.

On the basis of mode of nutrition, bacteria are of two types– ____________ and ____________.

Autotrophic and Heterotrophic.

What percentage of bacteria show autotrophic mode of nutrition?

1%

What percentage of bacteria show heterotrophic mode of nutrition?

99%

How do Chemosynthetic bacteria acquire energy?

Chemosynthetic bacteria oxidise various inorganic substances such as nitrates, nitrites and ammonia and use the released energy for their ATP production.

Where does respiration occur in bacteria?

Respiration occurs in the plasma membrane of bacteria

How does aerobic respiration occur in bacteria?

Glucose is broken down into carbon dioxide and water using oxygen in aerobic cellular respiration.

How does anaerobic respiration occur in bacteria?

Other molecules such as nitrate are broken down in anaerobic respiration.

What are the three methods of asexual reproduction in bacteria?

1. Fisson

2. Budding

3. Spore formation