Study GuideBiology–The Unity and Diversity of Life1. Basics of Classification (Taxonomy)1.1 Why Do We Classify Living Things?Earth is home tomore than 8 million different species. This number keeps changing as scientistsdiscover newspecies every year. With so many living things, biologists need a clear way to organizethem.The branch of biology that does this is calledtaxonomy, and scientists who work in this field areknown astaxonomists. Taxonomy helps us understand how living things are related and how life onEarth is bothdiverse and connected.1.2 The Beginning of Modern TaxonomyIn the mid-1700s, a Swedish scientist namedCarolus Linnaeusmade a major contribution tobiology. He studied plants and animals and grouped them based on theirreproductive parts.Linnaeus also introduced a naming system calledbinomial taxonomy, which gives every organism atwo-part scientific name. His system was so well designed that it is still used today.Later, Linnaeus’s work was combined withCharles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Darwin explainedthat:•All modern species evolved from earlier species.•All living organisms share acommon ancestry.Because of this,evolutionbecame the organizing principle of modern taxonomy. Today, organismsare classified in ways that reflect theirevolutionary relationships.1.3 What Is Classification?The wordclassificationmeans the same thing astaxonomy. It refers to the process of organizingand naming organisms based on shared characteristics and ancestry.Preview Mode
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