Biology Taxonomy Basics

Study Notes

Nomenclature

Scientific names consist of two words; the first is the genus (capitalized) and the second is the species (lowercase).
Both parts are written in Latin, either in italics or underlined.
Example: Humans are named Homo sapiens, where Homo is the genus and sapiens is the species.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: The largest grouping of living organisms sharing common features, subdivided into phyla (e.g., Plant Kingdom, Animal Kingdom).
Phylum: Groups organisms with similar characteristics, further divided into classes (e.g., Phylum Arthropoda).
Class: Categories within a phylum that share traits and are divided into orders (e.g., Class Insects, Class Arachnids).
Order: A subdivision of classes, organized into families.
Family: Groups of related organisms classified into genera.
Genus: Comprises species with shared traits, which can be further divided into individual species.
Species: A group of organisms with common characteristics capable of breeding to produce fertile offspring (e.g., humans, cats, dogs).

Biological Processes

Respiration: Chemical reactions in living cells that break down nutrients to release energy for metabolic activities.
Nutrition: The intake of organic substances and minerals for growth, tissue repair, development, and energy production.
Excretion: The removal of toxic substances, metabolic waste, and excess materials from the body.
Metabolism: Refers to the total of chemical reactions within cells, including respiration.
Growth: A permanent increase in an organism's size and mass, measured by the increase in cell number or size after removing water content.
Reproduction: The biological processes that result in the production of more organisms of the same kind.
Movement (Locomotion): Any action by an organism causing a change in position or place.
Sensitivity: The capability to sense and respond to changes in the internal or external environment; stimuli are the triggers for response.

Nomenclature

Scientific names consist of two words; the first is the genus (capitalized) and the second is the species (lowercase).
Both parts are written in Latin, either in italics or underlined.
Example: Humans are named Homo sapiens, where Homo is the genus and sapiens is the species.

Taxonomic Hierarchy

Kingdom: The largest grouping of living organisms sharing common features, subdivided into phyla (e.g., Plant Kingdom, Animal Kingdom).
Phylum: Groups organisms with similar characteristics, further divided into classes (e.g., Phylum Arthropoda).
Class: Categories within a phylum that share traits and are divided into orders (e.g., Class Insects, Class Arachnids).
Order: A subdivision of classes, organized into families.
Family: Groups of related organisms classified into genera.
Genus: Comprises species with shared traits, which can be further divided into individual species.
Species: A group of organisms with common characteristics capable of breeding to produce fertile offspring (e.g., humans, cats, dogs).

Biological Processes

Respiration: Chemical reactions in living cells that break down nutrients to release energy for metabolic activities.
Nutrition: The intake of organic substances and minerals for growth, tissue repair, development, and energy production.
Excretion: The removal of toxic substances, metabolic waste, and excess materials from the body.
Metabolism: Refers to the total of chemical reactions within cells, including respiration.
Growth: A permanent increase in an organism's size and mass, measured by the increase in cell number or size after removing water content.
Reproduction: The biological processes that result in the production of more organisms of the same kind.
Movement (Locomotion): Any action by an organism causing a change in position or place.
Sensitivity: The capability to sense and respond to changes in the internal or external environment; stimuli are the triggers for response.

Description

This quiz covers the fundamentals of biological classification, focusing on the binomial nomenclature system. Students will learn how to properly name organisms using Latin terms, distinguishing between genus and species. It also introduces the concept of kingdoms in the biological classification system.