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Year 9 Science — Diversity and classification

Place an organism in one of the five kingdoms, run the hierarchy from kingdom down to species, and read and write a scientific name in the binomial system.

Name: ________________________

Before you start

The seven bands of the classification pyramid, each one named.

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  1. 1. Kingdom, the broadest group of the seven
  2. 2. Phylum
  3. 3. Class
  4. 4. Order
  5. 5. Family
  6. 6. Genus
  7. 7. Species, the narrowest group of the seven

Each band sits inside the one above it, and the organisms in it share more features than the organisms in the band above. It works like an address, narrowing from country down to house.

  1. 1.Sort each organism into its kingdom.

    Groups: Monera · Protista · Fungi · Plantae

    • Mushroom
    • Paramecium
    • Amoeba
    • Cyanobacteria
    • Yeast
    • Spirogyra

  2. 2.Match each kingdom to what defines it.

    • Monera
    • Protista
    • Fungi
    • Plantae
    • Animalia
    • Multicellular eukaryotes without cell walls that feed on other organisms
    • Prokaryotes, whose nucleus has no membrane around it
    • Eukaryotes with chitin cell walls that feed on dead matter
    • Single-celled eukaryotes
    • Multicellular eukaryotes with cellulose cell walls that make their own food

  3. 3.Why does the chapter say classification is worth the trouble?

    • a) There are millions of organisms, and a system makes any of them findable and comparable
    • b) It reduces the number of species that scientists have to study
    • c) It gives each organism a name in the language of the country it lives in
    • d) It fixes the number of kingdoms once and for good

  4. 4.A geologist digs down through undisturbed rock layers. What does the chapter say she will generally find as she goes deeper?

    • a) The same organisms at each depth
    • b) Fossils of simpler organisms
    • c) No fossils at any depth
    • d) Fossils of more complex organisms

  5. 5.Which of these is written according to the rules for a scientific name?

    • a) panthera Tigris, in italics
    • b) PANTHERA TIGRIS, in italics
    • c) Panthera tigris, in italics
    • d) Tigris panthera, in italics

  6. 6.Amoeba, Paramecium and Euglena are grouped together. What do they have in common that puts them in one kingdom?

    • a) They are prokaryotes with no true nucleus
    • b) They have cell walls made of chitin
    • c) They are single-celled eukaryotes living in water or moist places
    • d) They are multicellular and make their own food

  7. 7.Yeast is a single-celled organism, yet it is not placed in Protista. Why is it in Fungi?

    • a) It is multicellular under the microscope
    • b) Its cell wall is made of chitin
    • c) It makes its own food by photosynthesis
    • d) It is a prokaryote

  8. 8.A mango tree's scientific name has two words: Mangifera comes first. Which of the two words names the species? Write it.

Answer key — Year 9 Science — Diversity and classification

  1. 1. Cyanobacteria → Monera; Amoeba → Protista; Paramecium → Protista; Yeast → Fungi; Mushroom → Fungi; Spirogyra → Plantae
  2. 2. Monera → Prokaryotes, whose nucleus has no membrane around it; Protista → Single-celled eukaryotes; Fungi → Eukaryotes with chitin cell walls that feed on dead matter; Plantae → Multicellular eukaryotes with cellulose cell walls that make their own food; Animalia → Multicellular eukaryotes without cell walls that feed on other organisms
  3. 3. a) There are millions of organisms, and a system makes any of them findable and comparable
  4. 4. b) Fossils of simpler organisms
  5. 5. c) Panthera tigris, in italics
  6. 6. c) They are single-celled eukaryotes living in water or moist places
  7. 7. b) Its cell wall is made of chitin
  8. 8. indica