Classification
There are millions of different species on the planet. Scientists try to group similar organisms together so that they are easier to identify. The groups start big and the organisms within have only a few similarities. As you move down the groups, they get smaller and the organisms have more features in common.
The biggest groups are called kingdoms. The five kingdoms are:
- Animal
- Plant
- Fungi
- single-celled organisms (Protoctists)
- Bacteria
The Animal kingdom
The Animal kingdom can be further split into:
Vertebrates - animals with a backbone. These include amphibians, mammals, reptiles, bony fish and birds.
(Clockwise from top-left) A frog, a squirrel, a snake, clownfish.
Invertebrates - animals without a backbone. These include molluscs, annelids, arthropods and nematodes.
(Clockwise from top-left) Clams, earthworm, a tarantula, Caenorhabditis elegans.
The Plant kingdom
The Plant kingdom can be divided into:
Flowering plants produce flowers for reproduction, eg sunflowers and grass plants
Non-flowering plants reproduce using spores, eg ferns and mosses
More guides on this topic
- Cell division and stem cells – WJEC
- DNA and inheritance – WJEC
- Variation – WJEC
- Mutation – WJEC
- Evolution – WJEC
- The nervous system – WJEC
- Homeostasis – WJEC
- The role of the kidneys in homeostasis – WJEC
- Micro-organisms and their applications – WJEC
- Disease, defence and treatment – WJEC
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