Ms. Bowie - Biology 11 Unit #2 – Classification & Diversity of Life Page 4 of 5

Classification Unit Reading Comprehension Assignment

Name: ______Section: ____ Date: ______

Nelson Biology 11 (page 326 – 329)

1) What do we call the science of classifying organisms? ______

2) Classifying organisms:

It is not always easy to classify organisms. Examine the following organisms (Fig. 2-7).

I)  Decide if each is a plant or an animal. State your reasons for your classification.

II)  What tests would you conduct on each of these organisms to determine whether they are plants of animals?

FIGURE / Organisms / Plant or animal? / Reason? / Tests
2 / Fucus, a seaweed
3 / Sponge
4 / Brittle Star
5 / Coralina, red algae
6 / Sea anemone
7 / Coral

3) On what did Carl Linnaeus base his system of classification? That is, how did he decide how closely related organisms were?

4) What is meant by binomial nomenclature? What is the scientific name made of (which two levels of taxonomy)?

B) What “rules” do we apply when we write a Scientific name of an organism?

C) Give the scientific names for the following:

Common Name / Scientific Name
North American Black Bear
Grizzly Bear
Alaskan Brown Bear
Polar Bear
Koala Bear / Phascolarctos cinereus
Panda Bear / Ailuropoda melanoleuca

D) Based on the scientific names of the “bears” above, what can you say about how closely related they are? How can you tell?

5) Why is Latin used in nomenclature? Give at least 2 reasons.

6) What are the 7 main levels of taxa, written in order from most broad to most specific:

Level of Classification (Taxa) / E.g. Taxa for Humans:

7) Complete the following chart:

Kingdom / Image / Description/Characterisitics / Representative Organisms
Eubacteria
Archae
Protista
Fungi
Plantae
Animalia

8) The history of evolution of a species or a group of organisms is known as: ______

Section 9.2 – Viruses (pg. 334-337)

1) What does the word virus mean in Latin? ______

2) Are viruses considered “living” or not? Explain.

3) Draw a good diagram of a bacteriophage and label it.

4) Describe what is meant by viral specificity.

5)  Describe the process of Viral Replication. Draw a diagram to fully illustrate the replication process.

6) Complete questions 1-8 on page 338 of Nelson Biology 11