PAOMBONG HIGH SCHOOL, INC.

School Year 2022-2023

LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEETS
SCIENCE (Grade 8)

Mrs. Diana Lopez-Ildefonso and Ms. Anna Karenina P. Pamfilo

Subjects Teachers

Lesson 18: Biodiversity: Variations in Life Forms

Performance Task

Week 36

Dates: May 8-12, 2023

Learning Competencies:

1. Explains the concept of species

2. Classifies organisms using hierarchical taxonomic system
3. Explains the advantage of high biodiversity in maintaining the stability of an ecosystem

Content Standard
The learners demonstrate understanding of the concept of species; the species as being
further classified into hierarchical taxonomic systems.

Performance Standard
The learners shall be able to report (through a travelogue) the activities that communities
engage in to protect and conserve endangered and economically important species.

Kindly read the following instructions:

1. Read and understand the information provided in the lesson.

2. Accomplish the activity promptly.
3. Manage your time properly.
4. Use the following icons as your guide.

This icon signals the discussion which contains significant

information that you need to read and analyze for better
understanding of the lesson.
This icon signifies the significant point/s that you need to remember
before moving on to the next lesson.

This icon signifies the activities that need to be answered as a way

of checking your understanding of the lesson. Keep in mind the
page number indicated for each activity.

The lesson is designed for you to understand the concept of species and the advantages of
high biodiversity in maintaining the stability of an ecosystem. A mini task and performance task are
provided for the deeper understanding of the lesson.

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 PAOMBONG HIGH SCHOOL, INC.
School Year 2022-2023

CHECK THIS OUT!

Imagine yourself in a library eagerly wanting to borrow a book in biology to complete your
assignment. Then, you saw that all books have been mixed up, and to be able to get a book, you
have to sort out the piles one by one. It is time consuming, isn’t it? A sure big test of your patience!
The enormous number of living things is like the piles of disorganized books in the library. Just as the
librarian organizes and categorizes books according to discipline and interest, the scientist also takes
several steps to identify and classify living things into groups. Taxonomy is the science that deals
with describing, naming, and classifying living things.

READ AND LEARN

Biological Species Concept

In the middle of the 18th century, a fresh concept called the biological species concept
appeared. This concept was acknowledged in the latter half of the 19th century once Darwin’s “Origin
of Species” was published (in 1859) known as the Newer Species concept.
Karl Jordan was the first to formulate this concept in 1905 and was supported by Ernst Mayr in
1940. As stated in this concept, “a species is a group of interbreeding natural population that is
reproductively isolated from other such groups”. Mayr described that the members of a species
exhibit these attributes:
Reproductive community – for the purpose
of reproduction the individual species recognize one another
as potential mates.

Ecological unit – the species’ members differ from each

other due to many attributes, but all the members
cooperatively form a unit. They interact with other species
as a unit in any environment.

Genetic unit – species comprise a large,

inter-communicating gene pool, although the individual is
simply a non-permanent vessel comprising a small part of
the contents of the gene pool for a shorter duration.

Different Levels of Classification

Carolus Von Linnaeus is a Swedish botanist who introduced a system of classifying living
things. He was the first to classify living things using structural similarity as basis. There are two
important features in his work – the classification of living things by levels and the binomial
nomenclature. There are 7 levels of classification. This taxonomic concept of Linnaeus places each
organism in a series of hierarchically arranged categories, which according to him, would reflect the
degree of kinship among organisms.

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School Year 2022-2023
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Levels Composition
Kingdom the highest and the most comprehensive level; a group of related phyla
Phylum a group of related classes
Class a group of related orders
Order a group of related families
Family a group of related genera
Genus a group of related species
a group of similar organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile
Species
offspring

Each category or level is called a taxon (plural taxa), which is a general term for any level of
classification. To envision a taxonomic hierarchy, let us take a look at how a human being is classified
into different levels.

The Classification of Man

Levels Classification Characteristics
Kingdom Animalia actively mobile, heterotrophic, multicellular and eukaryotic
with two pairs of appendages, and a dorsal nerve cord that extends
Phylum Chordata
the entire length of its body
Class Vertebrata with backbone that supports and encloses the spinal cord
has a body covered with hair, and mammary glands that are used
Order Mammalia
by female in feeding its young
Family Primate erect – uses only the hind legs in walking
Genus Homo has human like features
Species Sapiens wise

From the classification of man shown in the table, we can see our degree of likeness or
similarity with the chimpanzee, gorilla, and orangutan. Likewise, we can see the general structural
characteristics that every human being possesses and enable taxonomists to classify man in each
category or taxon.
Another feature of the Linnaean concept is the binomial nomenclature. Binomial
nomenclature is the system of giving living things a two-part name, which is Latinized. The binomial
nomenclature comprises the scientific name of an organism. During international conferences, the
scientific name erases the confusions brought about by using common names. The scientific name of
human beings is Homo sapiens. Another example is shown below.

The idea of Linnaeus was very well accepted by the scientists of his time. His system of
classification is still used up to present time, and this gave him the title, “Father of Modern
Taxonomy”.

The Different Schemes of Classification

Various classification schemes had evolved through time. Carl Woese is 1985 introduced a
classification system that groups living things into six categories: Plants, Animals, Fungi, Protista,
Archaea, and Eubacteria.
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School Year 2022-2023

The Six Kingdoms and Their Characteristics

Characteristi
Plantae Animalia Fungi Protista Archaea Eubacteria
c
Various Various Various Can live in Extreme Various
habitats habitats; habitats almost any environment habitats;
except cannot environmen s some can
extreme tolerate t with liquid tolerate
Habitat conditions; extreme water extremes,
only some condition while some
species can s cannot
tolerate
such
Phototrophi Hetero-tr Chemo-or- Phototropic Phototropic, Phototropic,
c (transform ophic ganotrophi or lithotrophic, lithotrophic,
light energy (always c (requires organotropi or or
into feeds an organic c organotropic organotropi
Mode of
biochemicall directly or source and c
Nutrition
y useful indirectly metabolic
energy) on other energy)
living
things)
Sexual or Sexual Spore Sexual Asexual, cell Asexual,
asexual dispersal (gametes) division cell division
Reproduction (sexual or or asexual
asexual) (cell
division)

Biodiversity is the abundance and variety of life forms within species, a community, an
ecosystem, or the biosphere. It is an important indicator of a healthy ecosystem. Have you been to a
forest? Can you imagine how diverse life in a forest can be?

The following are the advantages of high biodiversity in maintaining the stability of the ecosystem:

1. The high biodiversity of the plant species will aid in the growth and abundance of the animal
species which will feed on the plant species thus maintain stability between plant and animal
species.
2. High biodiversity will promote great variations in the gene pool which will support the adaptation
and evolution of new traits associated in species.
3. High biodiversity means a great source of medicine, food, herbs and meat for the benefit of human
society.
Biodiversity is important to humans for many reasons. Biodiversity is also considered by many
to have intrinsic value—that is, each species has a value and a right to exist, whether or not it is
known to have value to humans. The biodiversity book by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial
Research Organisation (CSIRO; Morton & Hill 2014) describes 5 core (and interacting) values that
humans play on biodiversity:

1. Economic—biodiversity provides humans with raw materials for consumption and production.

Many livelihoods, such as those of farmers, fishers and timber workers, are dependent
on biodiversity.
2. Ecological life support—biodiversity provides functioning ecosystems that supply oxygen,
clean air and water, pollination of plants, pest control, wastewater treatment and
many ecosystem services.
3. Recreation—many recreational pursuits rely on our unique biodiversity, such as bird watching,
hiking, camping and fishing. Our tourism industry also depends on biodiversity.

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 PAOMBONG HIGH SCHOOL, INC.
School Year 2022-2023
4. Scientific—biodiversity represents a wealth of systematic ecological data that help us to
understand the natural world and its origins.

Any loss or deterioration in the condition of biodiversity can compromise all the values outlined

above and affect human wellbeing.

DON’T FORGET

Now that you are done with your lesson, let’s check your understanding by accomplishing the mini
task.

Now that you are done with our lesson, let’s proceed to accomplishing your performance task.

READ AND UNDERSTAND

What is a Travelogue?
A travelogue is a person’s account of a journey
to another country or place. It can either be a written
report with many factual details or a narrative story
about personal impressions and experiences
supported by images.
A sample layout is shown at the right corner.

Steps in Writing a Travelogue

1. Decide on the purpose of your travelogue

2. Take notes about what you see, places you visit, and
people you get acquainted with. Keep a diary of your
impressions. Also, collect various brochures, tourism
maps, and guides. They may come in handy when you start writing a travelogue.
3. Take as many pictures as possible.
4. When you return home, take time to review your recordings. Sort them out by date, personal
importance, or based on any other criteria. Choose photographs which best illustrate the brightest
moments of your journey.
5. Create an outline of your travelogue. The outline is necessary for you to structure your thoughts and
to see if the story flows logically and is easy to understand.
6. After you’ve completed the outline, write the full travelogue. Try to make it as interesting as you can.
Add vivid descriptions, historic and factual information and educate your readers on the customs and
traditions of the country you’ve visited.

Since we rarely travel these days, you will use your experiences from your previous travels or you
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 PAOMBONG HIGH SCHOOL, INC.
School Year 2022-2023
may search for the place that you are interested in. This is because you will write down your own
thoughts or ideas regarding the activities that communities engage in to protect and conserve
endangered and economically important species.

PERFORMANCE TASK
Goal: To create a travelogue that shows the activities that communities engage in to protect and
conserve endangered and economically important species.
Role: Junior Photojournalist
Audience: Editor-In-Chief of Manila Bulletin 
Situation: The Editor-In-Chief of Manila Bulletin tasked you as a junior photojournalist to create a
travelogue describing your encounters with the natural scenery of the country and the activities that
communities engage in to protect and conserve endangered and economically important species in
the Philippines. The travelogue will be featured in the Lifestyle News section of the newspaper
website. 
Product: Travelogue
Standard: Your output will be evaluated using the following criteria: Content, Organization,
Mechanics, and Graphics
Outstanding  Satisfactory  Developing Beginning
Criteria
(15) (10) (5) (2)

The content
The content shows The content shows
effectively shows
relevant information irrelevant information Content is either
relevant and
Content to the intended to the intended questionable or
appropriate
audience.  audience.  incomplete.
information to the
intended audience. 

The travelogue’s
The travelogue has
The travelogue has The travelogue has format and
appropriate
excellent formatting organized information organization of
Organization formatting and
and the information is with random material are
well-organized
very well organized  formatting. confusing to the
information.
reader.
More than 6
No spelling, grammar, A few (2-3) errors in No more than 5
spelling, grammar
Mechanics or punctuation errors spelling, grammar or spelling, grammar or
or punctuation
in the text punctuation punctuation errors
errors
Pictures are
Pictures are Images or pictures appropriate. Layout
No pictures
appropriate for the are appropriate for may show some
included and only
Graphics topic. Layout is the topic. Layout degree of creativity but
little creativity was
exceptionally and flows well and shows is not organized
shown. 
creatively done. creativity logically and/or is
cluttered.

Sources:
● K12 Learning Materials
● Vengco, L. (2015). Science Links 8. Quezon City, Manila: Phoenix Publishing House, Inc.
● Religioso, T. (2014). You and the Natural World 8. Quezon City, Manila: Phoenix Publishing House, Inc.
● https://bio.libretexts.org/Courses/University_of_California_Davis/BIS_2B%3A_Introduction_to_Biology_-_Ecology
_and_Evolution/2%3A_Biodiversity/2.1_Species_Concepts
● https://byjus.com/biology/concept-of-species/
Semple, J. C. (2022). Kingdom. In World Book Advanced.
https://www.worldbookonline.com/advanced/article?id=ar300840

● https://academichelp.net/creative-writing/write-travelogue.html 
● https://www.traveloka.com/en-ph/explore/tips/features-eco-friendly-organizations-philippines/64061

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 PAOMBONG HIGH SCHOOL, INC.
School Year 2022-2023
LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEETS
SCIENCE 8
Name: _________________________________ Grade and section: __________________
Week 36 Date May 8-12, 2023

Mini Task: Classifying Organisms

A. Directions: Research at least 3 local plant or animal species that exist in your community.
Classify them according to the 8 major taxonomic ranks. Use the table provided below and
answer the questions that follow.

Species 1 Species 2 Species 3

Taxonomic Ranks
_______________ _______________ _______________

Kingdom

Phylum

Class

Order

Family

Genus

Species

1. Why is it important to classify organisms?

2. What does a scientific name tell us?

B. Directions: Answer the following questions briefly.

1. Explain the concept of species.

2. Explain the advantage of high biodiversity in maintaining the stability of an ecosystem.

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