Classification
"Kids Prefer Cheese Over Fried Green Spinach"
This song explains why scientists use forms of classification. From kingdom and phylum to class and order to family and species, you’ll be a genus genius by the end of the song. Ever wonder how mushrooms gain their energy? That’s in here too. Looking for a mnemonic to remember the KPCOFGS? We’ve got plenty.
Intro
Kids Prefer Cheese Over Fried Green Spinach.
King Paul Cried Out For Good Soup.
King Philip Came Over For Grape Soda.
(But) King Philip Couldn’t Order Five Good Shakes.
Kind People Create Only Fine Green Shirts.
Keep Pots Clean Or Family Gets Sick.
Kids Playing Catch On Freeways Get Smashed.
Karate Pirates Chew On Fresh Garden Salads.
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.
Let’s say you’re bored,
You need something spicy, like hot mustard.
You go to Blockbuster to get a movie,
But all the movies haven’t been divided and classified,
They’re in one big pile. So to find your favorite DVD,
Which is Hannah Montana in 3-D, it takes you like three weeks.
So you get real weak and you die,
Is this how it has to end? Let’s rewind.
You go to Blockbuster to get a DVD,
Now they’re organized; oh, it’s so easy!
They’re put in sections and they’re rated, too,
So you can find a flick that’s great for you.
"Did you know Kangaroo Pouches Can Only Feel Good Sometimes?"
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.
Now scientists, they do it the same,
Everything they see in the world, they give a name.
They classify things, divide ’em up,
So they don’t confuse a squirrel with a skunk.
For kingdoms, there used to only be two,
Animal or plant, but then they found some dudes
Who didn’t really fit in either one,
So now we have six kingdoms.
Archaebacteria are so old,
Even in hot springs, they stay cold.
You find Eubacteria in you,
Live in your tubes and digest your food.
I tell my Starbucks barista: "Hold the Protista!"
I don’t want algae in my grande latte.
But I do like mushrooms, so I eat the Fungi,
They absorb energy; they don’t need sunlight.
Animalia’s animals,
Like sharks, humans, ants, and moles.
You like plants? We have plenty of Plantae:
Flowers, grasses, weeds, and trees.
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.
"You know, Karaoke Provides Celebrity Opportunities For Good Singers."
"That’s true, but Kryptonite Prevents Certain Opponents From Getting Strong."
"Yes, I know, but Kafka Purportedly Couldn’t Oppose Foucault’s Greatest Sentiments."
"Look, man, just Keep Playing Clips Of Flocab’s Greatest Songs, okay?"
The Earth is wildly full of life and varied creatures. Vampire bats drink blood from other animals and feed each other. Bacteria live and thrive all over the place, including in our bodies. Penguins make an amazingly difficult journey across the Antarctic to find a safe place to lay eggs. Wild dogs hunt in impressively organized packs. In the sea, tiny seahorses, only as big as grains of rice, bounce around and eat plankton. Caterpillars build themselves cocoons, enter them, and emerge weeks later as bright butterflies.
Truly, the Earth is filled with amazing creatures. How do we categorize them all and keep them straight?
Truly, the Earth is filled with amazing creatures. How do we categorize them all and keep them straight?
Classification is the arrangement of organisms into similar or related groups. We classify living things based on evolutionary relationships and similarities in their biological structures, beginning with the most general. Once an organism is classified, it can be given a scientific name. Taxonomy is the science of identifying, classifying, and naming living things.
Just like people have first and last names, each living organism is given a scientific name with two parts. The first part identifies the genus and the second identifies the species. Unlike people's names, scientific names do not tell the family in which the organism belongs. However, any two organisms from the same genus already belong to the same scientific family.
The genus name starts with a capital letter, the species name with a lowercase letter. The genus is a grouping for several related species. Some wellknown examples of these names might be Tyrannosaurus rex or the common house cat, Felis domesticus. Scientists use these names to be sure that there's no question about what each creature is and how different organisms are related. So before naming an organism, it must first be classified into a kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, and finally, genus and species.
The genus name starts with a capital letter, the species name with a lowercase letter. The genus is a grouping for several related species. Some wellknown examples of these names might be Tyrannosaurus rex or the common house cat, Felis domesticus. Scientists use these names to be sure that there's no question about what each creature is and how different organisms are related. So before naming an organism, it must first be classified into a kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, and finally, genus and species.
Originally, there were only two kingdoms - plants and animals - but then scientists discovered creatures that didn't really fit the definition of either. Today, we classify every living organism into one of six different kingdoms. Greek and Latin terms are used to create names for various kingdoms, phylum, classes, orders, and families. Individual species, however, are sometimes named for the person who discovered the organism, or use a word that best describes the organism.
If a new organism is discovered that does not fit into any of the six established kingdoms, it will become a new kingdom. Within each kingdom, similar organisms are classified into individual phylum, which are further divided into classes, then orders, and finally families, genus, and species. Classification is done within each kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species by asking a series of yes or no questions. This questioning method is called a dichotomous
key. Each question is about physical structures and is based on whatever it is that divides members of that kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, or genus. Questions might include: Does it bear its young live or lay an egg? Does it have gills or lungs? Does it have hair or fur, scales, or feathers? The dichotomous key helps us to classify organisms in an organized manner.
key. Each question is about physical structures and is based on whatever it is that divides members of that kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, or genus. Questions might include: Does it bear its young live or lay an egg? Does it have gills or lungs? Does it have hair or fur, scales, or feathers? The dichotomous key helps us to classify organisms in an organized manner.
Two of these kingdoms are forms of bacteria. Unlike other organisms, bacteria are small, one-celled, and do not have a nucleus. The kingdom of Archaebacteria has been on Earth for at least three billion years; they're among the oldest of our planet's organisms. Archae, fittingly, is a Greek term that means "ancient." Some archaebacteria live in hostile environments like hot springs, geysers, and dry desert sands.
The kingdom of Eubacteria includes most common bacteria, like those that live in the soil, in the water, and even on or inside our bodies. Many are useful because they produce vitamins or break down substances into more usable compounds.
The kingdom of Protista or protists consists of single- or multiple-celled organisms that do have a nucleus. Of these, wellknown one-celled creatures include the paramecia, amoeba, and algae. Some are actually very large, like kelp, which we think of as seaweed. Plants, fungi, and animals probably evolved from protists millions of years ago.
The kingdom Fungi includes molds and mushrooms. Unlike plants or animals, fungi do not get nutrients via photosynthesis or eating food, but absorb nutrients from their surroundings.
The kingdom Animalia is made up of complex, multicellular organisms, most of which can move from place to place, have a nervous system, and have a digestive system that takes nutrients from food. You and I are animals, as are our pet cats, dogs, birds, fish, and frogs.
Let's classify one common animal: the house cat. A cat is in the kingdom of Animalia because it is a complex, multicellular organism. It has a nervous system, so it belongs to the phylum Chordata. Since it nurses its young and has a backbone, it's in the class called Mammalia, or mammals (which is different from other creatures with backbones like birds, amphibians, or reptiles). Since it has teeth that are specialized for eating meat, it is in the order Carnivora, or carnivores (as opposed to herbivores, which are animals that eat only plants). Unlike other carnivores like dogs or whales, a cat has special claws that it can retract and whiskers that it uses to sense its surroundings. That puts it in the family Felidae, which includes all kinds of cats or felines. Because it can't roar, but can purr, it is in the genus of Felis. That means that while it isn't one of the great cats, like a lion, tiger, or jaguar, it is a kind of feline. Finally, its size, hair, and temperament place it into the species we call domesticus, which means domesticated (living among humans). And there's the scientific name for the common house cat: Felis domesticus.
The kingdom Plantae includes multicellular organisms that use the sun's energy to produce sugars through photosynthesis. All kinds of flowering plants, trees, and grasses fall into this kingdom.
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