What is classification?


Classification is the grouping of things
according to characteristics

The science of classifying organisms is

known as taxonomy
 Why do we classify living
organisms?
Reasons: 
 (1) helps scientists to clearly identify species, study
and observe them, and organize concentrated
conservation efforts
 (2) assists as a way of remembering and
differentiating the types of organisms, making
predictions about organisms of the same type,
classifying the relationship between different
organisms, and providing precise names for
organisms
 (3) human attempt to make sense of the tremendous
diversity of the living world.
 Early classification system

 Aristotle was the first person to classify living things.
He grouped animals according to the way they
moved.
 Binomial Nomenclature
(also called Scientific Naming)

 Developed by Linnaeus

 Two-name system

 Each organism has a genus and a species name

 First name (genus); second name (species)

 
Scientific name - combination of the genus and species
name of an organism

 Scientific names of organisms are always italicized or

underlined: (Genus is capitalized; species name is
lower-case)

Ex: Felis catus

Canis lupus
 Modern Taxonomy

 Carolus Linnaeus was a swedish botanist, who
developed a system that became the forerunner to
the modern taxonomic system

 Each level of this system is called a taxon



 
Hint:
Kings Play Cards On Fat
Green Stools
 Kingdom

 The Largest and most inclusive taxon; separates
organisms on a very basic and elementary level

 Linnaeus originally recognized only two kingdoms:

(1) Plantae (2) Animalia

(In years to come, new kingdoms would be created to classify

microorganisms like Bacteria and Protists)
 Phylum

 The 2nd largest group, separates organisms by a
more specific characteristic

 Consists of a group of similar classes of organisms

 i.e. Phylum Chordata consists of all organisms with
a spinal chord

 These organisms share many aspects of their body

plan and internal functions in common
 Class

 The 3rd largest group, even more specific
characteristics are used to differentiate these
organisms
 Made up of similar orders of organisms

(i.e. Class Mammalia contains all organisms that are warm

blooded, have body hair and produce milk for their offspring)
 Order

 Broad category composed of similar families

(i.e. the Order Carnivora contains many organisms with

similar characteristics)

 Q: What characteristics might they share?

 Family

 A specific group of organisms that share a great deal
of characteristics with one another

 Composed of similar Genus’s

(i.e. The Family Ursidae is composed of all existing bear

species)
 Genus

 Small Group of very similar organism

 Composed of similar species

 The Genus Ursus includes the grizzly and polar bear;

the panda is in a separate genus called Ailuropoda
 Species

 Often a Latinized description of a unique
characteristic or native location of the organism

 i.e. Ursus Maritimus would refer to a bear that lives

near the sea or on floating ice pack, in this case a
polar bear.

 Q: What type of organism is Panthera leo?

A: Lion

Darwin spent most of
the rest of his life
attempting to explain
design in nature
without the need for
any purpose or a
guiding intelligence.
He labeled himself an
agnostic.
Darwin’s arguments against
GOD (creation):
(1) The theory of evolution emphasizes that species
changed over time, which called into question the
creation story of the Bible, which stated that God
created the world in seven days and man was created
on the last day.

>>>"The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man
became a living soul" (Genesis 2.7).

(Darwin's theory went against this by saying that

humans evolved from monkeys in a process that took
far longer than a day.)
(2)Natural selection states "species produced random
variations” and that only those beings whose
characteristics that allow them to survive and reproduce
can live a long life. It further argues against any form of
the divine plan known as moral divinity.

>>>Moral divinity states that God controls everything and by

accepting God into your life, you will live a long life in the
path of the Lord. Therefore, your morality and faith in God
shapes your life

(Natural selection doesn't guarantee you a long life because your

genetic characteristics can't stop you from dying from aids or dying
from a heart attack)
Darwinism as science differs from creationism,
which is faith and religion. Science is a way of
knowing about the natural world. It is limited to
explaining the natural world through natural
cause. Science can say nothing about the
supernatural. Whether God exists or not is a
question about which science is neutral.
THANKS EVERYONE!