Classifying Life

Describe the contributions to modern classification made by Carolus Linnaeus

Carolus Linnaeus placed organisms in groups based on their observable features. He also devised a naming system called binomial nomenclature that indicates an organism's genus and species.

Describe the modern system of classification

The modern system classifies organisms into eight levels: domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. The scientific name given to an organism is based on binomial nomenclature. The more classification levels two organisms share, the more characteristics they have in common and the more closely related they are.

Species

a group of organisms that can mate and produce offspring that can also mate and reproduce

Genus

first word in an organism's scientific name a

Binomial nomenclature

naming system developed by Linnaeus

Classification

process of grouping things based on their similarities

Taxonomy

the scientific study of how things are classified