Taxonomy through the Ages

Humans are considered to have a ______ soul.

Animals are said to have a ______ soul.

Plants have a ______ soul, focusing mainly on growth and reproduction.

In medieval taxonomy, God is placed at the ______ of the great chain of being.

New creatures from voyages of ______ challenged the existing taxonomy.

Carl Linnaeus developed a group-within-group system as part of modern ______.

The largest category in modern taxonomy is known as ______.

Eukarya, Bacteria, and Archaea are the three groups within the ______ category.

The domain ______ is made up of several kingdoms including Protista and Animalia.

The kingdom ______ consists of multicellular heterotrophs that have cell walls of chitin.

The phylum ______ includes organisms with a dorsal hollow nerve cord.

The subphylum ______ consists of all vertebrates that possess a backbone.

The class ______ includes organisms that typically have exoskeletons made of chitin.

Organisms in the phylum ______ have radial symmetry and can include species such as sea stars.

The natural science focuses on the demonstrable knowledge of ______ within God's creation.

The smallest classification unit in biological taxonomy is the ______.

Taxonomy

Ancient Taxonomy: Organised life in a straight line, with humans at the top, based on similarities.
- Humans: rational soul
- Animals: sensitive soul
- Plants: vegetative soul
- Minerals: inanimate, no soul
Medieval Taxonomy: Humans in the centre, with God at the top, and beings organised into realms (spiritual/material).
- Man divided into clergy, nobles, and peasants.
- Animals, plants, and minerals remained in the same categories.
Modern Taxonomy: Grouped living things based on shared characteristics, specifically cell structure.
- Every living thing is made of cells.
- A system of classifying organisms with hierarchical categories (Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, etc.).
- Cladistics (another modern system) organizes based on evolutionary relationships.
- Two main domains:
  - Eukarya (complex cells with a nucleus): Includes protists, fungi, plants, and animals
  - Bacteria (simple cells without a nucleus): Includes prokaryotes living in various environments (e.g. harsh ones).

Additional Biological Classification

Kingdoms (e.g., Animalia, Plantae, Fungi).
- Each kingdom has characteristics (e.g., multicellular, heterotrophic).
Phylum: Animals divided into groups called phyla (e.g., Chordata).
- Animals sharing common characteristics (e.g. a backbone in Chordata).
Further subdivisions within these categories (Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species).
Modern taxonomy uses characteristics of cells and embryonic development, rather than just the overall form of the creature.
- Vertebrates (a sub-group of animals) have a backbone.
- Other examples from the text include Arthropods (with exoskeleton), Echinodermata (radial symmetry), Mollusca (often having a shell).
Classification schemes are adapted/updated. For example, "Protista" is no longer considered a kingdom.

Explore the evolution of taxonomy from ancient classifications to modern scientific systems. This quiz covers the historical perspectives on organizing life, including the distinctions made between humans, animals, and plants. Test your understanding of these taxonomy concepts and their significance in biology.