Exploring Classification

Log in to your computer and go to the following web site: . Under Topics, click on Introduction to begin and answer these questions. Hint: if you are not sure what a term means and it is in purple, underlined text, you can click on it to find the definition.

Introduction

What is the name of the classification system that we will be learning about? ______

How many species have been given scientific names? ______

Gould estimates that ______% of plants and animals are extinct, with most leaving no fossils.

What is taxonomy? ______

Who is Karl von Linne? ______

In 1735, Linnaeus wrote Systmae Naturae which outlined his ______

The Linnaean system uses what 2 names for each organism? ______

What is the Latin name for humans in this system? ______

Where did Linnaeus put monkeys and apes? ______

Charles Darwin proposed that ______was the mechanism responsible for changes in species or evolution.

What is thought to be the reason for the great diversity of life today? ______

This is the diversification of a species into different lines as they adapt to new ______and ultimately evolve into distinct species.

You have completed this section. Click on the practice quiz and see how much you have learned. How many did you get correct? ______Then click on the Next Topic button to move to Principles of Classification and answer these questions.

Principles of Classification

List several characteristics of an elephant. ______

How do biologists classify organisms into different categories? ______

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What are Homologies? ______

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Now skip down to Problems in Classifying Organisms and find the answers to the following.

Species are always ______

It is natural to generalize and think that ______

What is the splitter approach? ______

What is the lumper approach? ______

Why are breeding experiments hard to do? ______

The assumption is that the more homologies two organisms share, ______

You have completed this section. Click on the practice quiz and see how much you have learned. How many did you get correct? ______Then click on the Next Topic button to move to Kingdom to Subphylum and answer these questions.

Kingdom to Subphylum

The highest level of classification in the Linnaean system is ______

At this level, organisms are classified based on ______

What are the 5 kingdoms? ______

What is the distinction between animals and plants based on? ______

______

Plants produce their own food through ______and they do not move.

How do animals get their food? ______

What is an organism that has characteristics of both plants (photosynthesis) and animals (movement)? ______

What are microscopic things that are not living but do have some of the characteristics of living things? ______

The level below kingdom is ______

At this level, animals are grouped by ______

What are the characteristics of Arthropoda? ______

What are some examples of Arthropoda? ______

What are the characteristics of Mollusca? ______

Examples of Mollusca are ______

All Chordates (like humans) have ______, which means that the right and the left side of the body are

At one point in their life, all chordates have ______, which are replaced by lungs in humans, some other mammals, birds and reptiles.

Chordates have a notochord at some point in their development that is a rudimentary (simple) ______

______

Members of Chordata have a ______

Some examples of chordates include ______

Among the ______the notochord is replaced by a more complex spinal chord late in the embryonic stage of development.

Vertebrates include ______

You have completed this section. Click on the practice quiz and see how much you have learned. How many did you get correct? ______Then click on the Next Topic button to move to Class and answer these questions.

Class

How many classes of vertebrates are there? ______

List the classes of vertebrates. ______

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How are these distinguished from each other? ______

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The most primitive of the fish is called ______, which consist of ______

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What are Chondrichthyesand how are they different from other fishes? ______

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Bony fishes are members of ______and examples include ______

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Amphibians spent part of their life ______

Where do amphibians reproduce? ______

What are the characteristics of reptiles? ______

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Why is the amniote egg an advantage over amphibian eggs? ______

What are some examples of reptiles? ______

In what class are birds found? ______

How do they give their eggs greater protection as compared to reptiles? ______

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Where are bird eggs fertilized? ______

What other animals use this type of fertilization? ______

What are the characteristics of mammals? ______

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What is a heterodont? ______

Mammals have specialized teeth such as ______, that help them to

Since many reptiles swallow their food whole, this limits them to ______

What is an endotherm? ______

What is an ectotherm? ______

What is a downside or drawback to endothermy? ______

In an ectotherm or cold blooded animal, when it is hot, they ______,

and when it is cold, they become ______

Two features of mammals that help them to regulate their body temperature are ______

______

Since humans are relatively hairless, they have ______

Mammals have ______chambered hearts (like birds), ______systems, and______brains.

Mammals first appeared ______years ago, in the age of dinosaurs and replace the ______as the dominant class of land animals

In mammals, ______functions as the protective shell of the amniote egg. This means that young mammals spend a long period of their within their mother’s uterus.

What do mammal mothers produce to feed their young? ______

½ of all animal species are ______

You have completed this section. Click on the practice quiz and see how much you have learned. How many did you get correct? ______Then click on the Next Topic button to move to From Subclass to Infraclass and answer these questions.

From Subclass to Infraclass

Mammals are divided into 3 variations based on their ______systems.

______lay eggs like non-mammalian vertebrates, feed their young with mammary secretions and are also known as ;

examples include ______

The subclass ______give birth to live young.

The oldest infraclass of therian mammals is the Metatheria, or the ______. Their young are born very ______and cannot live without further development in the mother's______.

Marsupials include ______and most of them are native only to ______and New Guinea.

Human are in the infraclass ______, which are also called ______

What are functions or jobs of the placenta and umbilical cord? ______

______

You have completed this section. Click on the practice quiz and see how much you have learned. How many did you get correct? ______Then go back to the Main Menu and click on Select Another Tutorial, and choose 10. Primates. Begin with Overview and answer the questions below.

Overview

The order Primates includes ______

The range of species of primates classified today is from ______

Where might unknown species of primates be hiding? ______

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Non-human primates are classified as ______

What are the general characteristics of primates? ______

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What is pentadactylism? ______

What is the advantage of having flat nails in place of rigid claws? ______

What does prehensile mean? ______

What primate does not have prehensile feet? ______

What is bipedalism? ______

As the primate nose shank, what expanded? ______

Many primates have ______vision, comparable to that of the human.

What is binocular vision? ______

Primate brains are large compared to their bodies. The areas of the brain that have expanded control ______

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Most primates have adapted to an arborealway of life. What does this mean? ______

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What types of primates do not have an arboreal way of life? ______

Almost all primates are ______, which means that they are active during the day and sleep at night.

Generally, primates are highly ______, which is made easier by ______

______and ______

Why have primates been highly successful animals? ______

______

You have completed this section. Click on the practice quiz and see how much you have learned. How many did you get correct? ______Go back to the Main Menu and click on Apes for the next section, and answer the following questions.

Apes

How do apes and humans differ from other primates? ______

What are the families of primates that are found in the superfamily, Hominoidea? ______

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Gibbons, siamangs, and orangutans live in______

Where can gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos be found? ______

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The long arms, permanently curved fingers, and light bodies of gibbons and siamangs make them excellent ______, which means that they

Gibbons and siamangs form nuclear families that are made up of ______

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Orangutans are the largest of the Asian apes and are intelligent and generally ______

They live ______lives and browse fruits and leaves. Some create simple ______

______to get honey out of bee hives.

Why are orangutans in danger of extinction? ______

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The largest of the African apes are ______, which are quadripedal, ______

They are shy, peaceful ______who live in family groups consisting of a dominant ______with several adult ______mates and their children.

The ______more closely resemble humans than do the gorillas, and their natural habitat is ___

Chimpanzees usually live in fluid or changing groups of ______animals. Males usually stay together and act as a ______to defend their

The bonobos is a ______or smaller chimpanzee.

Name several reasons that the chimpanzee population is decreasing. ______

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Now try something different. Go to this website and play Classification Hangman. Try to guess the name of the animal before the whale comes along and eats the fish! Put the name of the organisms on the lines below. Good luck.

1. ______
2. ______
3 ______
4. ______
5. ______
6. ______/ 7. ______
8. ______
9. ______
10.______
Your score: ______