Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region V
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CAMARINES SUR
SCIENCE 8
Name: _____________________________________ Quarter: 4 Week: 4

Grade and Section: ________________________ Date: ____________

CLASSIFYING and NAMING ORGANISMS

I. Introductory Concept

The practice of classifying organisms is called

taxonomy (Taxis means arrangement and nomos
mean method). The modern taxonomic system was
developed by the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus
(1707-1778). He used simple physical characteristics of
organisms to identify and differentiate between
different species and is based on genetics. He
developed a hierarchy of groups for taxonomy. To
distinguish different levels of similarity, each classifying
group, called taxon (pl. taxa) is subdivided into other
groups. To remember the order, it is helpful to use a
mnemonic device. A mnemonic device is a learning Carl Linnaeus, Swedish
device that aids information retention or retrieval. It https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/646795/view/carl-linnaeus-swedish-botanist

includes special rhymes, poems, acronyms, images, songs, outlines and other tools.
The taxa in hierarchical order:

➢ Domain - Archaea, Eubacteria, Eukaryote

➢ Kingdom - Plantae, Animalia, Fungi, Protista, Eubacteria,

(Monera), Archaebacteria

➢ Phylum - Invertebrates, Vertebrates

➢ Class - Fish, Bird, Mammal, Amphibian

➢ Order – Based on energy source of organism

➢ Family - Special characteristics of the Organism and its relatives

➢ Genus - First name of Organism

➢ Species - Last name of Organism

Systems of
Taxonomy
 Traditional 5-Kingdom System: Places all
prokaryotes (organisms without nuclear
membranes) in a single Kingdom Monera,
and puts multicellular life into three
branches: plants, fungi, animals. Protista is a
group for others that don’t fit anywhere else.
Three-Domain System: Based on
modern molecular evidence. Domain is a
super kingdom that shows extremely ancient
lineages that existed among unicellular life
and groups of eukaryotic organisms.
The most modern taxonomy system is the
three-domain and six-kingdom system. The
5-kingdom system has been replaced due to
DNA evidence.
https://blogs.ubc.ca/mrpletssch/2019/09/10/unit-1-1-principals-of-taxonomy/

Defining Features of Domains and Kingdoms

Domain Archeabacteria. Unicellular; prokaryotic cell; no peptidoglycan (sugar) in
cell wall
Domain Eubacteria. Unicellular; prokaryotic cell; peptidoglycan in cell wall
Domain Eukarya. Eukaryotic cell

The Six Kingdoms

• Kingdom Archeabacteria – Unicellular, Prokaryotic cell, No peptidoglycan (sugar) in
cell wall (Is a domain and a kingdom!), can be autotrophic or heterotrophic.
Example: Organism found in extreme temperature or acidity such as
Staphylothermus hellenicus, Acidilobus saccharovorans

• Kingdom Eubacteria – Unicellular, Prokaryotic cell, Peptidoglycan in cell wall (Is a

domain and a kingdom!), both heterotrophic and autotrophic
Example: Cyanobacteria, Staphylococcus Aureus

• Kingdom Protista – Eukaryotic organisms that can be unicellular or multicellular. Can

be animal-like, plant-like, or fungi-like, both heterotrophic and autotrophic
Example: Algae, diatoms, amoebas, euglena, plasmodium, & molds

• Kingdom Plantae –Eukaryotic, photosynthetic autotrophs (make their own energy),

multicellular.
Example: Mango, acacia, lemon, tomato, grapes

• Kingdom Animalia – Eukaryotic, heterotrophs (must consumer energy), multicellular

Example: Human, fish, birds, insects etc.

• Kingdom Fungi – Eukaryotic, saprotrophic decomposers (eat dead matter outside

their body), multicellular.
Example: Agaricus bisporus, molds, truffles, yeast.
Linnean System of Classification

Species is one of the most specific classification that scientists use to describe
organisms. They use the system of naming individual species with two Latin names
called binomial nomenclature (system of giving scientific names) created by Carl
Linnaeus. This system uses the genus as the first name, which is always capitalized,
and the name of the species as the
second name always written in lower
case. The name must be in italics and
in Latin, which was the major language
of arts and sciences in the 18th century.
For example, the Red fox, Vulpes
vulpes, are both in the genus Vulpes
(capitalized)and their species name is
vulpes (small letter). Just remember the
capitalization to distinguish between images of red fox and swift fox in one frame - Bing images
genus and species. Other foxes such as the Swift fox, Vulpes velox, are also part of
the Vulpes genus. Both the Red fox and the Swift fox belong to the same genus which
is Vulpes however, they differ into the species they belong with, so this serves as
barrier that keep them from interbreeding. The scientific name can be also
abbreviated, where the genus is shortened to only its first letter followed by a period.
In our example, Vulpes vulpes would become V. vulpes.

Table 1. Example of Linnean System Classification

Levels of Organization

https://blogs.ubc.ca/mrpletssch/2019/09/10/unit-1-1-principals-of-taxonomy/

Taxonomy and binomial nomenclature are both specific methods of classifying

an organism. They help to eliminate problems, such as mistaken identity and false
assumptions, caused by common names.

The table below shows the bases of classification of living things considering the
five (5) domains of the organism namely: kingdom, cell type, cell structure, number
of cells and mode of nutrition.
 Source: https://sites.google.com/a/ccsd.edu/lappi/home/biology/taxonomy

II. Learning Skills/Competency

Classify organisms using the hierarchical taxonomic system (S8LT-IVh-20)

III. Activities
Activity 1. DESCRIBE ME!
Direction: Describe the distinguishing characteristics of organisms under the six-
kingdom scheme of classification.

KINGDOMS PROKARYOTE AUTOTROPH, UNICELLULAR, EXAMPLES

VS. HETEROTROPH, MULTICELLULAR,
EUKARYOTE or BOTH, or
DECOMPOSER BOTH
ARCHAEBACTERIA

EUBACTERIA

PROTISTA

FUNGI

PLANT

ANIMAL

Activity 2. NAME ME!

Direction: Using the data below, write the scientific name of the organisms using the
binomial system of classification. Make sure to follow the rules of writing its name.
 Category Domesticated Dog Bangus Wolf Lion
Cat
Kingdom Animalia Animalia Animalia Animalia Animalia

Phylum Chordata Chordata Chordata Chordata Chordata

Class Mammalia Mammalia Actinopterygii Mammalia Mammalia

Order Carnivora Carnivora Gonorynchiformis Carnivora Carnivora

Family Felidae Canidae Chanidae Canidae Felidae

Genus Felis Canis Chanos Canis Panthera
Species Catus Familiaris Chanos Lupus Leo

Organisms Scientific Name

1. Domesticated Cat __________________________________

2. Dog __________________________________
3. Bangus __________________________________
4. Wolf __________________________________
5. Lion __________________________________

Answer the following questions:

1. What is binomial nomenclature and why is it important?

___________________________________________________________________________
2. What are the rules in writing the scientific name of organism according to
binomial nomenclature?
__________________________________________________________________________

Activity 3. Direction: Classify the organisms using the hierarchical taxonomic system by
filling up the table below.

Taxa (s.Taxon) Human Common Daisy

(Scientific Name)
Kingdom

Phylum

Class

Order
Family
Genus
Species
Activity 4. Retain or Retrieve?
Direction: Create a mnemonic device to help you remember easily the biological
taxonomic system.

Example: Dream Ko Pumasa Cause Our Family Gets Sweldo. (Crdts. CBRC)

Domain Phylum
Order Genus

KIngdom Class Species

Family

Write here your mnemonic of biological taxonomic system:

IV. References

Prototype and Contextualized daily lesson plans in grade 8 science

Baguio, S.M. (2018). Breaking Through Science 8 Second Edition. Quezon City.C
& E Publishing.

Prepared by: ANGELICA R. FLOJO

Writer

Quality Assured by: EMILY B. ESMABE

Education Program Supervisor-1, Science

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