classification + biodiversity

• What method do biologists use to group organisms?

  Phylogenetic method
• What do closely related organisms share?

  A more recent common ancestor
• How can relationships among organisms be depicted?

  In a phylogenetic tree
• What does moving up a phylogenetic tree represent?

  Moving forward in time
• What do shorter branches in a phylogenetic tree indicate?

  Extinct species
• What do points where branches join in a phylogenetic tree represent?

  Common ancestors
• What is the classification hierarchy from largest to smallest taxon?

  Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
• What is taxonomy?

  The identification and naming of organisms
• What is the smallest taxon in the classification hierarchy?

  Species
• What is the largest taxon in the classification hierarchy?

  Domain
• What are the key features of the classification system?

  • Infers evolutionary relationships
  • Provides concise terms for organisms
  • Classification systems are tentative and may change
• What is the largest taxon that encompasses all living things?

  Domain
• What are the two groups that the kingdom prokaryotae is split into?

  Bacteria and Archaea
• What are the three domains of life?

  Bacteria, Archaea, Eukaryota
• What type of bacteria does the domain Bacteria include?

  True bacteria like E. coli
• What type of bacteria does the domain Archaea include?

  Extremophile bacteria
• What is the defining characteristic of fungi?

  Cell walls made of chitin
• How do fungi reproduce?

  Both asexually and sexually
• What are the main characteristics of protoctista?

  Mainly single-celled, lack tissue differentiation
• What is the characteristic of prokaryotes?

  Microscopic organisms
• What is the main feature of the Animalia kingdom?

  Multicellular organisms with nervous coordination
• What do plants in the Plantae kingdom do?

  Photosynthesize
• What is a phylum?

  A sub-group of a kingdom
• What is a class?

  A sub-group of a phylum
• What is an order?

  A group within a class
• What is a family?

  A group within an order
• What is a genus?

  A group of similar organisms
• What is a species?

  A group that can interbreed to produce fertile offspring
• What must be true about the offspring of Panthera leo and Panthera tigris?

  They are infertile hybrids
• What is the significance of homologous structures?

  Indicate a more recent common ancestor
• What are analogous structures?

  Structures with similar functions but different origins
• Why is it important to identify analogous features?

  To avoid mistakes in classification
• What do biochemical methods measure to assess relatedness?

  The proportion of shared DNA or proteins
• How do scientists compare DNA or proteins?

  Using gel electrophoresis
• What conclusions can be drawn from protein banding in gel electrophoresis?

  More similar bands indicate closer relatedness
• How do biochemical methods reduce classification mistakes?

  They assess genetic similarities, not appearances
• How do sharks and dolphins differ?

  Sharks have cartilage fins; dolphins have bone limbs
• What does the similarity in protein bands indicate about species A and B?

  They share a more recent common ancestor
• What does less similarity in proteins between species A and C suggest?

  They have a more distant common ancestor
• How do biochemical methods help in classification?

  They confirm relationships beyond structural similarities