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Kingdom Classification - Binomial Nomenclature

Grade 7ICSE

Review the key concepts, formulae, and examples before starting your quiz.

🔑Concepts

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Binomial Nomenclature is the formal system of naming organisms using two components: the Genus name and the Species name.

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The system was introduced by the Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus, who is widely regarded as the 'Father of Taxonomy'.

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The scientific name is universal and helps avoid confusion caused by local or vernacular names in different languages.

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Rule 1: The first word denotes the Genus and must start with a capital letter (e.g., PantheraPanthera).

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Rule 2: The second word denotes the species and must start with a small letter (e.g., leoleo).

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Rule 3: Scientific names are always written in italics when printed and must be underlined separately when handwritten (e.g., Homo‾\underline{Homo} sapiens‾\underline{sapiens}).

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The names are usually derived from Latin or Greek because these are 'dead languages' and their meanings do not change over time.

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Organisms are classified into a hierarchy: Kingdom→Phylum→Class→Order→Family→Genus→SpeciesKingdom \rightarrow Phylum \rightarrow Class \rightarrow Order \rightarrow Family \rightarrow Genus \rightarrow Species.

📐Formulae

Scientific Name=Genus (Capitalized)+species (lowercase)\text{Scientific Name} = \text{Genus (Capitalized)} + \text{species (lowercase)}

Hierarchy: K→P→C→O→F→G→S\text{Hierarchy: } K \rightarrow P \rightarrow C \rightarrow O \rightarrow F \rightarrow G \rightarrow S

💡Examples

Problem 1:

What is the scientific name of the Common House Cat?

Solution:

Felis catusFelis\ catus

Explanation:

In this name, FelisFelis represents the Genus and catuscatus represents the specific species. Note the capitalization and italics.

Problem 2:

Rewrite the scientific name of the Mango tree correctly: 'mangifera indica'.

Solution:

Mangifera indicaMangifera\ indica

Explanation:

According to the rules, the Genus name must begin with a capital letter (MM) and the species name with a small letter (ii).

Problem 3:

Identify the Genus and Species for the Frog, known scientifically as Rana tigrinaRana\ tigrina.

Solution:

Genus: RanaRana, Species: tigrinatigrina

Explanation:

The first part of the binomial name always indicates the Genus, and the second part indicates the Species.

Problem 4:

List the scientific name for a Human Being.

Solution:

Homo sapiensHomo\ sapiens

Explanation:

HomoHomo is the genus to which humans belong, and sapienssapiens is the species name meaning 'wise'.