Every Question You Ever Had About Scientific Classification - Answered

Classification, or taxonomy as it is often called is used extensively in science. The classification system is constructed in a pyramid. The levels are (starting from the top) Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species. Above kingdom can be placed domain and life.

Why are classification names given in Latin?

Due to the diversity of our world and its many languages, Latin eliminates any confusion between names when dealing with science. Latin was chosen due to the fact that it is a dead language and no longer changing as many everyday languages do. Additionally, Latin (as well as Greek) is commonly used by scholars and for other scholarly purposes.

According to classification, who are our closest relatives?

According to the system of classification, our closest living relatives are chimpanzees. Human DNA differs from that of chimpanzee DNA by around 1%. Additionally, there are similarities in the brain and central nervous system, as well as blood and immune responses. Chimpanzees are also capable of intellectual thought such as decision making (Jane Goodall Institute, N.d).

Jane Goodall Institute. (N.d). Similarities Between Chimpanzees and Human Beings. Retrieved June 6, 2007, from Jane Goodall Institute Website: http://www.janegoodall.org/chimp_central/chimpanzees/similarities/default.asp

Take the term "dog" or "fish." Would "fish" be a good scientific classification?

No, fish isn't a good scientific category because there are so many different types of fish. If I were to say I wanted fish, you wouldn't know which fish I was talking about. If I were to do research on fish A and report my findings calling the fish only fish, my findings wouldn't be able to be replicated. No one would know exactly what fish I was talking about. As such, further classifications are needed in order to understand exactly what fish or what type of fish I studied.
Fish is a broad classification, so it is too wide to be a good classification.

All fish share some basic characteristics such as:
1. They all live in water
2. They all have fins
3. They all have the ability to pull oxygen from the water by way of their gills
4. They are all cold blooded

Turning to plants...why is it that trees have different shaped leaves?

Different trees have differently shaped leaves to deal with their natural environments. Not only shapes, but tree leaves vary in texture, vein structure, and the like that help them to survive in their habitat. For example, some leaves have a water-resistant surface. These sorts of leaves can commonly be found in rain forest plants or plants that thrive in water, such as the lotus or lily pad.

Trees are able to adapt to their environments, and their leaves are their main source of food and thus survival. If you look to rainforest trees and plants you can see that they strive to reach the sun. Vines will wind up trees, and ground plants will reach for rays of sunlight in order to collect food. In this way plants are like animals; they will adapt in order to survive. All leaf shapes serve a specific purpose to the tree.