SS1 First Term Biology Lesson Note – Classification of Living Things

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WEEK 2:

SUBJECT: BIOLOGY

CLASS: SS1                                                                                

TOPIC: CLASSIFICATION OF LIVING THINGS

CONTENT: (1) Classification/Taxonomy of living things

(2) Binomial system of nomenclature

(3) Classification and evolution

Sub- Topic 1: CLASSIFICATION (TAXONOMY) OF LIVING THINGS

To classify means to arrange or organize things into groups. Classification of living things involves placing living things that have certain important features in common into specific groups which distinguish them from other groups.

The largest group of organisms is the kingdom. The kingdom has the largest variety of organisms.

The kingdoms are further split into a large number of smaller groups called ‘phyla’ (singular phylum) for animals and ‘division’ for plants. All members of a phylum or division have certain features in common. Each phylum or division is broken down into classes. Classes are split into orders. Orders are split into families. Families are split into genera (singular genus) and genera into species.

The seven groups used in classification of living things in order of hierarchy are;

Kingdom → Phylum (Animal) or Division (Plant) → Class → Order → Family → Genus → Species

The species is the basic (i.e. smallest) unit in biological classification. A species is a group of individuals which can interbreed to produce fertile offspring. Example, all human beings belong to one species and all monkeys belong to a different species, thus human beings and monkeys cannot interbreed.

Classification	Human	Dog	Lion
Kingdom	Animalia	Animalia	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata	Chordata	Chordata
Class	Mammalia	Mammalia	Mammalia
Order	Primate	Carnivora	Carnivora
Family	Hominidae	Canidae	Felidae
Genus	Homo	Canis	Panthera
Species	sapiens	familiaris	leo

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