classification

taxonomy: the study of classifying and naming living organisms based on their similarities and differences

classification

the process of grouping organisms into groups based on their similarities and differences

Why do scientists classify organisms?

- To help identify new species
- To find evolutionary links between organisms
- To help predict characteristics

classification hierarchy (8 taxonomic groups)

Domain

Kingdom

Phylum

Class

Order

Family

Genus

Species

binomial system

naming species

→first part of name=genus (has a capital letter)

→second part of name=species (has a lower case letter)

[written in italics or underlined when handwritten]

Why is the Binomial system needed? (3)

-avoid confusion from different common names

-universal system

-know which genus and species the organisms belongs to