Classification of

living things
Science Grade 7
Characteristics Of living things
In general, the characteristics
found in living things are breathing,
move, eat and drink, grow and
develop, can reproduce, excrete
wastes, are sensitive to stimuli, and
adapt to environment.
 Classification of living things
All living organisms are classified into groups based on
very basic, shared characteristics. Organisms within each group
are then further divided into smaller groups. These smaller groups
are based on more detailed similarities within each larger group.
These specialized groups are collectively called the classification of
living things. The classification of living things includes 7 levels:
kingdom, phylum / division, classes, order, families, genus, and
species . The most basic classification of living things is kingdoms.
Currently there are five kingdoms : animal, plant, fungi, protist and
monera (bacteria).
Robert Whittaker (1969), proposed the first popular classification
system called five-kingdom system, which was accepted widely.
Classification of living things
All the species in a particular kingdom have similar characteristics in
terms of their growth and the way they function. Now let's look at
where the family relationships that define nature's kingdoms come
from:
• Nutrition. Autotrophic (makes its own food) or heterotrophic (feeds
on other living things).

• Cell organization. Unicellular (having only one cell) or multicellular

(having two or more cells).

• Cell type. Eukaryotes (the genetic material is surrounded by a

membrane) or prokaryotes (lacking a membrane).
Classification of living things
Respiration. Aerobic (needs oxygen) or anaerobic (does not use
oxygen).

Reproduction. Sexual, asexual or through spores.

Movement. Self-moving or static

Animal kingdom
The kingdom Animalia is the
most evolved and is divided into two
large groups : vertebrates and
invertebrates. These animals are
multi-celled, heterotrophic eukaryotes
with aerobic respiration, sexual
reproduction and the ability to move.
This kingdom is one of the most
diverse and comprises mammals,
fish, birds, reptiles, amphibians,
insects, molluscs and annelids,
among others.
Animal kingdom
The first major division of animals is that which
distinguishes them into vertebrates and invertebrates: Vertebrates
are all those animals that are equipped with an internal bone
skeleton whose main axis is the vertebral column. By the name of
invertebrates, however, we mean all those animals that do not have
an internal bone skeleton. Vertebrates are a separate type of
animals, while invertebrates, given the considerable differences
they have from each other, have been divided into various types.
Invertebrates are widespread in every environment and are divided into eight
main groups:
• Porifera (hewan berpori; Sponges)
• Cnidaria or Coelenterates (hewan berongga; Jellyfish, corals, anemones )
• Platyhelminthes (cacing pipih; Flatworms, flukes, tapeworms)
• Nematodes (cacing gilig; Ascaris, hookworms, pinworms)
• Annelids (cacing berbuku-buku; Earthworms, leeches, lugworms)
• Arthropods (hewan kaki beruas-ruas; insects, spiders, crustaceans such as
shrimp, crabs, lobsters)
• Molluscs (hewan lunak; Snails, clams, squids, octopi )
• Echinoderms (hewan berkulit duri; Sea stars, brittle stars, sea urchins)
 Plant kingdom
Trees, plants and other species of
vegetation make up part of the Plantae
kingdom - one of the oldest, and characterized
by its immobile, multicellular and eukaryotic
nature. These autotrophic things, whose cells
contain cellulose and chlorophyll are essential
for life on Earth since they release oxygen
through photosynthesis. As regards their
method of reproduction, this may be either
sexual or asexual.
In the plant kingdom, there are
three main divisions, namely
bryophyta (mosses), pteridohyta
(ferns), and spermatophyta (seed
plants). Extant seeds plants are
divided into two large groups:
gymnosperms and angiosperms.
Gymnosperm translates to “naked
seed,” meaning that the seed is not
enclosed in a protective structure.
Gymnosperms include conifers,
cycads, ginkgos, and the perplexing
gnetophytes. Angiosperm translates
to “vesseled seed,” in which the seed
is encased in a protective structure,
called fruit.
Fungi kingdom
This name is used to designate the
fungi kingdom which includes yeasts,
moulds and all species of mushrooms and
toadstools. These multicellular aerobic
heterotrophic eukaryotes have chitin in
their cell walls, feed off other living things,
and reproduce through spores.
Protist kingdom
This group is the most primitive of
the eukaryotics and all the others are
descendants of it. The Protista kingdom is
paraphyletic - it contains the common
ancestor but not all its descendants - and
it includes those eukaryotic organisms
that are not deemed to be animals, plants
or fungi such as protozoa. As it is so
heterogeneous it is difficult to categorise
it, since its members have very little in
common.
 Monera kingdom
This is the kingdom of
microscopic living things and groups
together the prokaryotes (archaea and
bacteria). This group is present in all
habitats and is made up of single-cell
things with no defined nucleus. Most
bacteria are aerobic and heterotrophic,
while the archaea are usually
anaerobic and their metabolism is
chemosynthetic.
Stages of classification of living things
In classifying living things, must go through several stages. Where there are 3 stages of
classification that can be done, namely:
1. Identification. Identification is the first step in the classification stage, which is done
by looking for similarities and differences in the characteristics of organisms.
2. Grouping. After the characteristics of an organism are known, the next stage of
classification is to group the organisms into appropriate groups. Organisms in one
group have great similarities when compared to organisms in other groups.
3. Giving Names of Living Creatures. The last classification stage is naming. Giving
names to new living things aims to make it easier and recognize living things and to
make it easier to distinguish them from other living things. There are various
systems of naming living things, including naming with a double nomenclature
system (binomial nomenclature) using Latin and used universally.
binomial nomenclature
The system of binomial nomenclature was introduced by Carolus Linnaeus. The rest of
the binomial nomenclature rules for writing the scientific names of organisms include
the following:

1. All the scientific names of organisms are usually Latin. Hence, they are written in
italics.
2. There exist two parts of a name. The first word identifies the genus and the second
word identifies the species.
3. When the names are handwritten, they are underlined or italicized if typed. This is
done to specify its Latin origin.
4. The name of the genus starts with a capital letter and the name of the species starts
with a small letter.
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