Part I: Characteristics for Classification

Put a check next to each characteristic that can be used to classify organisms by determining if they are observable, measurable and objective.

  1. _____ 5 petals
/
  1. _____ soft
/
  1. _____ segmented body

  1. _____ blue tipped wings
/
  1. _____ two feet present
/
  1. _____ fleshy

Part II: Taxonomy

Use your notes to answer the following questions

  1. In the scientific name, the first letter of the ______must becapitalized.
  1. The scientific name must be ______or italicized.
  1. The ______is the most general of the seven taxa.
  1. ______Which of the seven taxa is the most inclusive?
  1. ______Which of the seven taxa is the most exclusive?

Part III: Binomial Nomenclature

Use the scientific names shown below to answer questions 12-14.

Scientific Name / Common Name
Amaranthus caudatus / Tassel Flower
Begonia semperflorens / Wax Begonia
anchusa apensis / Summer Forget-Me-Not
Cynoglossum amabile / Chinese Forget-Me-Not
Amaranthus tricolor / Fountain Plant
  1. Which flowers shown above are MOST closely related?

______

  1. When determining how closely related 2 organisms are, should you use common names or scientific names? ______
  2. Which flower’s scientific name is not written in the correct format?

______

Part IV: Relatedness in Taxa

Use the table below to answer questions 15-17.

Coyote / Wolf / Wolverine
Kingdom / Animalia / Animalia / Animalia
Phylum / Chordata / Chordata / Chordata
Class / Mammalia / Mammalia / Mammalia
Order / Carnivora / Carnivora / Carnivora
Family / Canidae / Canidae / Mustelidae
Genus / Canis / Canis / Gulo
Species / latrans / lupus / gulo
  1. Which two of the three animals are more closely related, and how do you know? ______

______

______

  1. Which of the seven Taxa levels are the three animals related to each other? ______

______

______

  1. What is the scientific name of…

Wolverine - ______

Coyote - ______

Wolf - ______