Background Information in Summary
Classifying is a way of organizing information, putting objects and ideas into groups or sets on the basis of similarities or certain criteria (basis). The science of biological classification is called Taxonomy of living things.

Classification will help biologists to systematically identify and study the enormous number of living things which is estimated to be about 5 Million different species, with ease.

Linnaeus established a system of naming organisms called Binomial nomenclature. He also established the modern levels of classification. Binomial nomenclature is used by scientist’s world wide. Under the system, each species of organisms is scientifically known by two names: the Generic name first, then the name of the species e.g. Canis familiaris for dog.

The levels of taxonomic groups are: species, genus, family, order, class, phylum and kingdom. Plants are grouped in divisions instead of phyla. Sometimes intermidiate levels prefixed with sub and super like sub phylum, super class are added. Modern taxonomy establishes classification on the basis of :Phylogeny ( evolutionary history of species ) rather than physical similarities alone. Prokaryotes are organisms that lack nuclei and other membrane bound organelles. Most multicellular organisms and all protists are eukaryotic organisms with distinct nucleus bound by nucleur membrane and membrane bound organelles. Kingdoms of living things have evolved through different systems of classification but, the five kingdom system of classification, though not a perfect classification, has gained wide acceptance. It is convenient for use in keeping with current knowledge than any other known system of classification.The five kingdom classification are : Animals(Kingdom Animalia). Plants (Kingdom plantae), Fungi,(kingdom fungi) protists (Kingdom protista) and Monera (Kingdom Monera).

Monerans and Viruses

All monerans are prokaryotes. There are two major types of monerans, the bacteria and its related forms under sub kingdom schizophytes and the blue green algae which falls under kingdom cyanophyta. Schizophytes are primarily heterotrophic bacteria-like organisms (note some bacteria can be chemosynthetic which is an autotrophic made of nutrition). Cyanophytes are autotrophic prokaryotes that contain chlorophyll.

Bacteria affect humans by causing diseases, spoiling food, while some are useful. For instance saprophytic bacteria, nitrogen fixing bacteria,and bacteria that produce antibiotics.Viruses are made of nucleic acid core surrounded by a protein capsule. All viruses reproduce in a living medium (living cells) and use the cells machinery to make new virus particles. Scientist are uncertain about the evolutionary origin of a virus.

Protista

Unlike monerans, protists are eukayrotic. All protist reproduce by mitosis and cell division. Many forms also reproduce sexually.

The kingdom protista are mostly single celled unicellular organisms which cannot be classified as monerans, fungi, animals or plants. The kingdom is divided into plant like protists and Animal like protists.

Most protist live in water and body fluids of living organisms.

The plantlike protists: the three phyla of plantlike protist are distinguished by their photosynthesis pigments, cell wall structure and means of locomotion.

These phyla are: Euglenophyta, pyrrophyta, and chrysophyta. Pylum Euglenopyta includes Euglena, phylum pyrrophyta includes plankton while phylum chrysophyta has diatom as one of its members.

Kingdom fungi

Kingdom fungi consists of organisms that are plant like in some aspects but lack Chlorophyl. Fungi are saprophytic or parasitic in their modes of nutrition.Most fungi have their bodies made up of hyphae which grows in a network known as mycelium.The chitin, a cabonhydrate is a component of the cell walls of many fungi. Fungi reproduce sexually and asexually. Its life cycles involve or include a haploid and a diploid stage. True fungi that reproduce by forming zygospore are called zygomycetes. Examples of fungi are : Rhizopus, mushroom etc.

The plant kingdom

Plants are eukaryotic living things that has chloroplast and can make their own food by photosynthesis. Most plants are multicellular and non-motile. They all possess cell walls that are made up of cellulose. Plants can reproduce asexually by vegetative reproduction or by the formation of spores. Plants can also reproduce sexually. Most plants have life cycles characterized by alternating hapliod (sporophyte) with diploid (gametophyte) phases. A life cycle with an orderly sequence of haploid and diploid generations is said to have alternation of generations.

The plant kingdom consists of the following divisions:
1. Thallophyta (algae)
2. The brophyta e.g mosses and liverworts
3. The Tracheophytes e.g ferns, conifers, and Spermatophytes.

The Thallophyta and Brophytes are Non Vascular plants while the tracheophytes are called Vascular plants.

Non Vascular plants

These are plants without specialized tissues for conducting water, food and mineral salts. The thallophytes and Bryophytes belong to this group. Non Vascular plants do not have true stems, roots, leaves and flowers. Their bodies can be thread like (filamentous) or flat (thallus). They are aquatic. and they have chloroplasts.

Vascular plants (Tracheophytes)

These are plants that have truly conquered the dry land,they possess vascular tissues which enable them to transport water, mineral salts and food. They posses true roots, stems, leaves and reproductive organs with specialized function. There are two divisions of the tracheopytes: (1) The pteridophytes (spore bearing vascular plants) and (2) The spermatophytes (seed bearing vascular plants)

Characteristics of some vascular plants

Kingdom Animalia

Animals are multicellular heterotrophs. They all ingest food and most are motile. Animals like sponges are attached to a single spot. They are said to be sessile. Animals are divided into vertebrates and invertebrates just for classification purpose.

Invertebrates: invertebrate are animals without back bones. Under this we have The following phyla:

1. Phylum porifera, e.g.sponges,
2. phylum coelenterate e.g. Hydra,
3. Phylum platyhelminthes (the flatworms) e.g. tapeworm
4. phylum Aschelminthes (round worm and Rotifers) e.g. Hookworm
5. phylum Annelids (the segmented worms) e.g. Earthworm.
6. phylum Molluscs e.g. snail
7. phylum Echinodermata e.g. starfish (viii) Phylum Arthropoda e.g. insects

Vertebrates

Vertebrates are subphylum which belong to the phylum chordates- animals with notochords.

Three basic characteristics of chordates are:

1. possession of a strong flexible rod like structure called notochord at some stage of their lives
2. hollow dorsal nerve chord which becomes brain and spinal chord at the adult stage
3. Gill slit (paired openings in the wall of the pharynx) at some stage in their development.

Chordates are divided into: sub phylum urochordates; subphylum cephalochordates; and subphylum vertebrata.

Vertebrates are animals with backbones. They make up the complex organisms in the animals kingdom. Vertebrates are divided into 7 classes: Agnatha (jawless fish); chondrichthyes (cartilage fish); osteichthyes (bony fish); Amphibia (frogs, toads, salamanders. They are the first terrestrial animals); Reptilia (snakes, lizard, turtles, alligators); Aves (Birds: they have feathers with body adapted to flight). Mammalia (rats, rabbits, goat, sheep, humans etc.)

Questions

1. To which of the five kingdoms of living things does each of the following organisms belong.

2. What organisms are called by the scientific name :
(a) Rana pipiens?
(b) If two animals are in the same class what other categories or groups in levels of organization of living things will they commonly belong to.

3.(a) What is Taxonomy of living things?
(b) Homo in Humans is to genus as sapiens is to Also mammalian is to class as primates is to

4.(a) State one difference between prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
(b) Prokaryotic cells are found in kingdom

5. Write the classes that the following organisms belong in the spaces provided against them.

6. Write(type) the families of the following organisms in the spaces against them

Monera

Work to do

1. State the two Monera sub kingdoms
i
ii

2. State two products of anaerobic breakdown of glucose by bacteria
i
ii

3. State three economic importance of bacteria
i
ii
iii

5. State one characteristic of a virus that makes it look like a living thing.

Project

1. Find out how a modern sewage- treatment facility works and what role bacteria play in the operation of such a plant.

Work to do

Protists

A.
B.
C.

1. Identify diagrams A.B.C above and use them to answer questions 1 To 5

(2) Which of these organisms is a cilliate?

(3) How does the organism in diagram B obtain its food?

(4) All the organisms carry out osmoregulation and excretion by means of

(5) State one thing that makes B a plantlike protista (i)

Project

1. Collect samples of water from a nearby pond or stagnant water and examine them under a microscope draw picture of the protist you see.

More General Questions

1. which of the following does not need water to reproduce. (a) Fern
(b) Cyad
(c) Whisk fern
(d) Conifers

(e) Conifers are to cones as angiosperm are to
(f) Name one characteristic present in ferns but not in mosses
(g) What two characteristics are present in Angiosperms but not in Gynosperms

2. Write 5 differences between a spore and a seed in the table below

3. (a) Identify the diagram in Fig.2.8 without reasons (b) What division of plants does it belong to?
(c) Does the organisms display a clear alternation of generation?
(d) If yes what generations are shown in the diagram?
4. (a) Conifer is a typical example of
division of plants.
(b) Give one example of a typical conifer

Questions on invertebrates

1. State three other characteristics other than food source that distinguish (a) plant from an animals:

2. Earth worm, sponges, Hydra, snail, starfish, cantipedes (a) Write the organisms listed above in the correct phylum where each belongs just as tabulated below:

	Organisms	Phylum
1	Earth worm
2	sponges
3	Hydra
4	snail
5	starfish
6	cantipedes

2b. Draw the diagram of hydra in your practical note book show and label its external features (diagram must not be less than 10cm long)

3a. (I) Label the diagrams shown in specimens A according to the numbers shown and answer the questions that follow:

• 1.
• 2.
• 4.

(ii) Identify specimen A without reason

(b) What class of organisms in its phylum does it belong

(c) State two habitats where the organisms can be found

(d) What type of feeding behavior does the organism exhibit

3e Write down the function of the parts labelled

4. Below are organisms labelled as specimen x,y,z,k,l,m (a) Identify each of the organisms without reasons. Write where they can be found:

5 (a) Label the diagrams of the specimens D – F shown in figure 2.91, fig 2.92 and fig 2.93, according to the numbers. Write the functions of 3, 4, 11.
(b)

1. Which of the organisms belong to phylum Annelida
2. What type of structure of body cavity does it have
3. State another examples of a member of the phylum
   

   Leaches

   

   Hydra

   

   Sponges

(c) Specimen E and F belong to the same class, what class do they belong
State four characteristics of animals in this class

5b (i) In which of the organisms in specimen D-F can you find a hermaphrodite.
(i) Write two economic importance of each of the organisms in the specimen D-F as shown below:

Specimen	Economics importance
D
E
F

1a. In the life cycle of the earthworm, when it is cut into two halves one half can usually grow the missing parts to form the complete worm. What can this be called?
Use this diagram in figure 2.94 to answer questions 1b to 1e. 1b Identify the stage the meat inspector finds when he examines infected meat
(c) What is this stage called ?
(d) What mode of nutrition does tape worms carry out
(e) What stage is found in the gut of a Man

(2b) Among the tapeworms species, Teania solium is to pork (pig meat) as Teaniaseginata is to a
(2c) Elephantiasis can be caused by a parasite which belong to the phylum
(2d) Write three economic importance of a cockroach

Quetions: Fishes

2a State three difference between a bony fish and a cartilagenous fish

	Bony fish	Cartilagenous fish
1
2
3

1a Label all the external features shown in the diagram of a fish below: 1b What type of fish is shown in Fig. 2.95
1c Among fishes that have teeth, what type of dentition do they have
1d State the functions of the following in a fish

2a Write the names of the parts labelled 1-7 and write the functions of 1-5 as tabulated below

8. Tabulate two differences and similarities between a fish and a tadpole as shown below in the table. Differences

	Fish	Tadpole
1
2

Similarites

	Fish	Tadpole
1
2

10. Write the class the organism in figure 2.97 belong
11. Write two differences between the organism and a lizard

Reptiles

1. a Identify the organisms in fig 2.98a and b drawn below without reasons.

b. What subphylum do they belong to
c. State three other organisms that are in the same class with them.

Aves

1. The following names in the table below as some of1he external and internal feature of a bird. Write their functions on the right Columns against them.

MAMMALS

Below in figure 2.982A is a specimen diagram showing a typical mammal.
Use the diagram to answer questions a-c. 1a. Label the diagram. 1b The animal is homiothermic. What does this mean?

What order of mammals does the organism belong to?

2a what type of dentition does mammals have?
2b The fore and hind limb of vertebrates are built according to a basic pattern called
2c How many parts is the body cavity of animals divided into?

3aWhat type of body cavity is found in mammals ?
3b State two characteristics mammals have in common with birds Which two groups of placental mammals have teeth that grow continually

3c Rabbits among mammals are classified as Lagoomorphs why aren’t they classified as rodents? How many orders are placental mammals divided into?
State four characteristic features common to all mammals.

5. The organisms in figure 2.982B is a horse. What order of mammals does it belong to?

Write two differences between such order of mammals and primates
Teacher's attention required

June 1993 SSCE Biology 1 Practical question q3
3. List two structural modification of one named bird which feeds on (a) Necter (b) Flesh

SSCE NOV 1989 Biology 1 practical question 9 a,b,c.

SSCE NOV 1990 BIOLOGY 1 PRACTICAL QUESTION 10 10. The graph below illustrates the changes in the body temperature of two animals A and B at different environmental temperatures. Study the graph carefully and use it to answer questions (a) to (c). (a) From the graph, make deductions on the effect of the environmental temperature on the body temperature of the animals indicated as : (i) A (ii) B

(I) A

(ii) B

(b) Suggest one way by which the animal indicated as B can maintain its body temperature or prevent its body from over heating.
(c) Give one example each of an animal whose body temperature can be similarly affected by environmental temperaturs as: (i) Animal A (ii) Animal B.