Biology Classification Mindmap

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  • Classification
    • Traditionally, organisms have been classified according to a system first proposed in the 1700's by Carl Linnaeus. This method grouped living things according to their characteristics and structures that make them up.
      • This system is called the Linnaean system.
      • The Linnaean system first divided things into kingdoms.
      • These kingdoms further subcategorised into smaller and smaller groups- phylum, class, order, family, genus and species
    • As knowledge of biochemical processes taking place inside organisms developed and microscopes improved, scientists made new models of classification.
      • One of these methods was in Carl Woses' three-domain system in 1990.
        • From evidence gathered from new chemical analysis techniques, he found that in some cases, species which were though to be closely related were not as close as first thought.
        • In the three domain system, Woese split all the organisms into three large groups called domains.
          • Archaea- organisms in this domain are primitive bacteria. They're often found in extreme places such as hot springs and salt lakes.
          • Bacteria- This domain contains true bacteria like E. coli and staphylococcus between them. Although they often look similar to archaea, there's lots of biochemical differences between them.
          • Eukaryota- This domain includes a broad range of organisms including fungi, plants, animals and protists.
        • From the three domains, the categories are the divided into smaller groups- kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species
    • In the binomial system, every organism is given its own two part Latin name. The first part refers to the genus and the second part is the species.
      • For example- humans are known as homosapiens. 'Homo' is the genus, and 'sapiens' is the species
      • The binomial system is used worldwide and that means scientists in different countries or who speak different languages, can avoid potential confusion by referring to species by the same name.
    • Evolutionary trees show how scientists think difference species are related to one another.
      • They show common ancestors and relationships between species. The more recent common ancestor, the more closely related the two species.

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