Science: 1. Classification

Year 7 Science : Classification (Short Answers)1. How to group living things by their body features:Look at what the animal or plant looks like — for example, does it have a backbone, legs, wings, or scales?2. How to use a branching key (dichotomous key):Start with a yes/no question about the organism, then follow the arrows or lines to more questions until you find its name.3. What are the five main kingdoms?Plants – make their own food, don’t move.Animals – eat food, move around.Bacteria – tiny single cells with no nucleus.Fungi – feed on dead things (e.g. mushrooms).Protists/Protoctists – mostly single-celled but more complex than bacteria.4. What makes the five kingdoms different?They differ in cell type, how they feed, and how they live (e.g. animals eat, plants make food, fungi absorb food from other things).5. What’s the difference between vertebrates and invertebrates?Vertebrates have a backbone.Invertebrates don’t.6. Examples of animals in each group:Vertebrates: mammals (dog), birds (eagle), fish (salmon), reptiles (lizard), amphibians (frog)Invertebrates: insects (ant), arachnids (spider), crustaceans (crab), molluscs (snail), worms, jellyfish, sponges, starfish7. How to sort vertebrates into five groups:Look for features like:Mammals – have fur, feed young with milkBirds – feathers, lay eggsFish – live in water, have gills and scalesReptiles – dry scaly skin, lay eggsAmphibians – moist skin, live in water and on land8. How to sort invertebrates into six groups:Use features like body segments, legs, and shell:Insects – 3 body parts, 6 legsArachnids – 8 legs, 2 body partsCrustaceans – 10 or more legs, hard shellMolluscs – soft body, often a shellWorms – long, no legsEchinoderms – star-shaped or spiny, like starfish9. What is binomial naming?It’s a way of giving every living thing two Latin names — the genus and the species, like Homo sapiens for humans.10. Examples of binomial names:Human: Homo sapiensHouse cat: Felis catusDog: Canis lupusOak tree: Quercus robur