• The six kingdoms of life can be organized based on whether members are:

  • Unicellular or multicellular

  • Prokaryotic or eukaryotic

  • Autotrophic or heterotrophic

The Six Kingdoms of Life

• Taxonomy - a classification based on an organisms physical characteristics

• Every organisms on Earth has its own taxonomy

Taxonomy

• There are fewer organisms in each classification as you move from kingdom to species

• Those remaining organisms have more physical characteristics in common, however

Levels of Taxonomy and Similarities

Scientific Name - the genus and species of an organisms

• Written in italics

• Genus is capitalized, species isn't

• Example: the fennec fox's scientific name is Vulpes zerda or V. zerda

Scientific Name

Two organisms are members of the same species if:

• They can produce offspring

• Their offspring can also produce offspring

Species