Classification

Classification is organising living organisms into groups. Plants can be divided into 2 main groups (1) flowering e.g. daisies and (2) non flowering such as mosses. Animals can be divided into 2 main groups (1) invertebrates whiich lack a backbone suchas insects and (2) verterbrates which have a backbone. There are different ways of classifying organisms and all organisms are part of more than one group.

Organisms with similar features can be classified into the same group.

Organisms can be classified based on their similarities in their morphological chracteristics- these are features of their internal and external structure e.g. whether something has lungs or gills, how many legs it has, what colour it is etc. Organisms can be classified using DNA analysis to look for similarities in their DNA. Morphological characteristics are sued to classify orgnaisms in the 5 kingdom classifiction system. In this system, living organisms are first divided into 5 groups called kingdoms. There are:-

(1) animals- fish,mammals, reptiles etc

(2) plants- grasses, trees etc

(3) Fungi e,g, mushrooms, toadstools, mould

(4) Bacteria- single celled organims without a nucleus

(5) Single celled organisms with a nucleus eg algae

The kingdoms are then subdivided into smaller and smaller groups that have common features- phylym, class, order, family, genus and species.

Human are classified: Kingdom- animal, Phylum -Chordata, Class Mammalia; Order primates; family hominidae, Genus Homo, Species Sapiens.

Having a systematic approach to classification helps scientists better understand the huge variety of living organisms on earth as well as the relationship between them.

Each organims has its own two part scientific name in latin. The first part of the scientific name in later refers to the genus that the organism belongs to. This gives you info on the oganism’s ancestry. The second part relates to the species. eg humans are known as homo sapiens: homo is th egenus and sapiens is te species.

the naming system is used worldwide and that means scientitsts in different countries or who speak different languages all refer to a particular species by the same name. This helps avoid confusion of using common or local name for example over 100 different plant species are commonly called raberiries.

There are so many different environments because organisms that live in them have adaptations. Adaptations allow organims to survive. Organisms including micro organisms are adapted to liv ein different environmental conditions. The features or characteristics that allow them to do this are called adaptations. These can be morphological or behavioural.

Morphological: these are features of an organism’s body structure such as shape or colour. For example: artic animals like an artic fox have white fut so they are camoflaged against the snow. This helps them sneak up on prey. Like other animals lviing in cold places, artic foxes have adaptations to help them retain heat. Thes einclude a thick layer of body fat and thick fur, a relatively large body mass, rounded face and compact features eg small ears which given them a small surface area compared to their volume. Animals that live in hot places like the fennec fox had

ve adaptations to help them loose heat eg a thin layer of body fat, large ears which gives them a large surface area compared to their volument.

Behavioural- these are way that organims behaviour. E.g some animals such as antelop live in groups- means there are more eyes looking for predators- increased chance of survival Some species eg birds mirgreate to warmer climates during the winter to avoid cold conditions.


1. Classification Mind Map

  • Organism Groups

    • Plants

    • Flowering (e.g., daisies)

    • Non-flowering (e.g., mosses)

    • Animals

    • Vertebrates (have a backbone)

    • Invertebrates (lack a backbone, e.g., insects)

  • Classification Methods

    • Morphological Characteristics: Internal and external body structures (e.g., presence of lungs vs. gills, leg count, body color).

    • DNA Analysis: Comparing sequence similarities in DNA.

  • 5 Kingdom Classification System

    • Animals: Fish, mammals, reptiles, etc.

    • Plants: Grasses, trees, etc.

    • Fungi: Mushrooms, toadstools, mould.

    • Bacteria: Single-celled organisms without a nucleus.

    • Single-Celled Organisms with Nucleus: e.g., Algae.

  • Taxonomic Hierarchy Flow

    • Kingdom→Phylum→Class→Order→Family→Genus→Species\text{Kingdom} \rightarrow \text{Phylum} \rightarrow \text{Class} \rightarrow \text{Order} \rightarrow \text{Family} \rightarrow \text{Genus} \rightarrow \text{Species}

    • Human Example: Animalia→Chordata→Mammalia→Primates→Hominidae→Homo→sapiens\text{Animalia} \rightarrow \text{Chordata} \rightarrow \text{Mammalia} \rightarrow \text{Primates} \rightarrow \text{Hominidae} \rightarrow \text{Homo} \rightarrow \text{sapiens}

  • Binomial Naming System

    • Two-Part Latin Format: Genus species\text{Genus species}

    • Genus: First word, capitalized; indicates organism ancestry (e.g., Homo).

    • Species: Second word, lowercase; specifies exact species (e.g., sapiens).

    • Purpose: Global standardization; prevents confusion caused by regional common names (e.g., over 100100 species share the common name 'raspberries').

2. Adaptations Mind Map

  • Morphological Adaptations (Body Structure)

    • Cold Climates (e.g., Arctic Fox)

    • White fur for camouflage in snow.

    • Thick layer of body fat and dense fur for heat retention.

    • Relatively large body mass.

    • Compact features and small ears (provides a low surface area to volume ratio to minimize heat loss).

    • Hot Climates (e.g., Fennec Fox)

    • Thin layer of body fat.

    • Large ears (provides a high surface area to volume ratio to maximize heat loss).

  • Behavioural Adaptations (Actions & Habits)

    • Living in Groups (e.g., Antelopes): Increased vigilance with multiple eyes watching for predators, raising survival rate.

    • Migration (e.g., Birds): Moving south to warmer regions during winter to avoid harsh cold conditions.