Taxonomy

UMUC Biology 102/103

Lab 6: Taxonomy

INSTRUCTIONS:

· On your own and without assistance, complete this Lab 6 Answer Form electronically and submit it via the Assignments Folder by the date listed on your Course Schedule (under Syllabus).

· To conduct your laboratory exercises, use the Laboratory Manual that is available in the WebTycho classroom (Reserved Reading or provided by your instructor) or at the eScience Labs Student Portal. Laboratory exercises on your CD may not be updated.

· Save your Lab6AnswerForm in the following format: LastName_Lab6 (e.g., Smith_Lab6).

· You should submit your document in a Word (.doc or .docx) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) for best compatibility.

Experiment 1: Classification of Common Objects

Questions

1. Did you find that the items grouped together as you worked down the flow chart had similar characteristics in terms of their appearance? What about function?

2. Do you feel that the questions asked were appropriate? What questions would you have asked? What objects would be grouped together with your system?

3. Pick 10 household items (e.g. spoon, book, paper clip, etc.) and design a taxonomic classification system to categorize them, similar to the one in Figure 2.

4. Can you devise a different classification system for the objects used in this experiment that would distinguish each in as many, or fewer steps?

Experiment 2: Classification of Organisms

Table 2: Key Characteristics of Some Organisms

Organism	Kingdom	Defined Nucleus	Mobile	Cell Wall	Photosynthesis	Unicellular
E. coli				✔		✔
Protozoa		✔	✔	✔		✔
Mushroom		✔		✔
Sunflower		✔		✔	✔
Bear		✔	✔

Questions

1. Did this series of questions correctly organize each organism? Why or why not?

2. What additional questions would you ask to further categorize the items within the kingdoms (hint: think about other organisms in the kingdom and what makes them different than the examples used here)?

3. Do you feel that the questions asked were appropriate? What questions would you have asked?

 

TYPE YOUR FULL NAME:

Is the object cylindrical or round?

No

Yes

1.

Figure 2: Experiment 1: Classification of Common Objects Flow Chart

Start

6.

2.

No

Yes

Yes

Does the object have more than one hole?

8.

No

Yes

9.

Is the object used for writing?

Is the object longer than 5 cm?

7.

Yes

No

No

Yes

4.

5.

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

3.

Yes

Yes

Is the object smooth on the outside (no angles)?

No

Is there a hole in or near the center of the object?

Is the object metal?

Is there permanent ink on the object?

Does the organism have a defined nucleus?

Figure 3: Experiment 2: Classification of Organisms Flow Chart

Start

Yes

No

Kingdom:

Bacteria

Does the organism perform photosynthesis?

Is the organism mobile?

No

Yes

Kingdom:

Protist

No

Yes

Kingdom:

Animal

Does the organism have a cell wall?

No

Yes

Kingdom:

Fungi

Kingdom:

Plant