Classification

• What is classification in biology?

  The process of placing living things into groups based on similarities and differences
• What is taxonomy?

  The study of classification
• What does phylogeny study?

  The evolutionary relationships between organisms
• What is the biological species concept?

  All individuals that can interbreed together to produce fertile offspring
• What is the phylogenetic species concept?

  A group of individuals with similar morphology, physiology, biochemistry, genetics, embryology, and behavior
• What is a good working definition of species?

  A definition that combines the biological and phylogenetic species concepts
• What is the binomial system of classification?

  A system that uses the genus and species name
• How should the names of species be written in the binomial system?

  Written in italics or underlined
• Why is the binomial system important?

  It avoids confusion if several species have the same common name
• On what basis can classification be made?

  It can be based on physical features and similarities in biological molecules
• How does the binomial system help scientists globally?

  It allows scientists who speak different languages to know they mean the same species
• Who were the first taxonomists mentioned in the study material?

  The Greeks and Linnaeus
• What modern techniques are used in classification?

  Similarities in DNA nucleotide sequences and protein amino acid sequences
• What is an example of a protein used in classification?

  Cytochrome C