8
Science
Quarter 4 - Module 5
Week 5, Hierarchical System
of Classification
Science - Grade 8
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 4 - Module 5: Hierarchical System of Classification
Revised Copy, 2021
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Published by the Department of Education – Division of Cebu City
Schools Division Superintendent: Rhea Mar A. Angtud, CESO VI
Development Team of the Module
Writer/Compiler/s: Eubelle T. Sablaon, SST-III, Abellana National School
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Content Editors: Dr. Gemma A. Bendebel, Principal II, Lahug Night High School
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National School
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Management Team: Dr. Rhea Mar A. Angtud, Schools Division Superintendent
Dr. Bernadette A. Susvilla, Asst. Schools Division Superintendent
Mrs. Grecia F. Bataluna, CID Chief
Dr. Raylene S. Manawatao, EPS-Science
Mrs. Vanessa L. Harayo, EPS LRMDS
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Lesson Hierarchical System of
Classification
Quarter : Fourth Quarter
Content Standard : The learners demonstrate an understanding on the concept of
a species as being further classified into a hierarchical
taxonomic system.
Performance Standard : The Learners shall be able to classify the organisms using the
hierarchical taxonomic system.
Competency : The learners explain the concept of a species and classify
organisms using the hierarchical taxonomic system.
Duration : Week 5
Topic : Hierarchical System of Classification
What I Need to Know
This module will introduce you to the concept of biodiversity, specifically the
variety of organisms living on Earth. This will discuss how they are classified and named.
At the end of this module, you are expected to:
1. Explain the concept of species.
2. Classify organisms using the hierarchical taxonomic system.
3. Recognize the need to have a system of classifying and naming organisms.
What I Know
Mind Check!
It is important to know how familiar you are with the concepts in this topic. Let us
check how far you know. Answer the pre-test.
PRE-ASSESSMENT
Directions: Write the letter of the correct answer on a separate sheet of paper.
1. Which of the following is NOT a biodiversity level?
A. ecosystem B. genetic C. population D. species
2. Which of the following phrase describes biodiversity?
A. extinct species C. nonrenewable resources
B. the rate of species declines D. the variety of species on Earth
3. What does speciation mean? It is the _____________.
A. birth of an entire new species
B. ability to mate and reproduce
C. movement of a group of organisms into a new habitat
D. change from one species into two or more distinct species
4. Which level of biodiversity comprises the different places where organisms live?
A. ecosystem B. genetic C. habitat D. species
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5. What does Biological Species Concept mean? Organisms are part of the same species if
they _________________________.
A. breed C. look the same and act the same
B. look the same D. produce offspring that can also breed
6. What organisms on earth have the GREATEST number?
A. animals B. bacteria C. fungi D. plants
7. Which of the following organisms on earth has the LEAST number?
A. animals B. bacteria C. fungi D. plants
8. Who devised the current classification of organisms?
A. Aristotle B. Darwin C. Linnaeus D. Plato
9. If two organisms are in the same phylum, in what category are they the same?
A. class B. family C. kingdom D. species
10. Which kingdom contains “extremophiles”?
A. archaebacteria B. eubacteria C. fungi D. protista
11. How many domains of organism classifications are there?
A. 2 B. 3 C. 6 D. a lot to be discovered.
12. What does an organism’s scientific name consist of? It consists of ______.
A. domain and kingdom C. family and order
B. genus and species D. phylum and class
13. Which of the following is CORRECTLY ranked in increasing order of inclusiveness?
A. Genus, class, family, order C. Order, family, class, phylum
B. Kingdom, phylum, class, genus D. Species, family, order, class
14. How does the scientific name of humans CORRECTLY written?
A. Homo sapiens B. homo sapiens C. Homo Sapiens D. Homo Sapiens
15. Which domain contains organisms that are unicellular, prokaryotic and can cause illness
yet also make food such as yogurt?
A. Archaea B. Bacteria C. Eukarya D. Protista
Let us start our journey in learning!
What’s In
Directions: To recall your lesson in Grade 7 read and understand the given statements. Match
column A with column B to make the statements correct. Write your answers on a
separate sheet of paper.
A B
1. ____________is made up of two or more cells. a. fungi
2. Mushrooms and bread molds are example of _______. b. unicellular
3. ___ is a set of things working together as parts of a mechanism. c. organisms
4. ____________ is made of one cell. d. system
5. ______is the highest level of organization in the living world. e. multicellular
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What’s New
Biological diversity is enormous! Biologists estimated that there are about ten
million species of living things, but according to them only about three million species have
been classified and identified by taxonomists. To illustrate how complicated the task of a
taxonomist is, let us answer the activity.
Activity 1
Species Separation
Objective: Explain the concept of species
Procedure: Do what is directed. Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.
1. Read the information on the biological species concept in the box below.
2. Answer the questions below.
a. What species are the parents? ________________________________________
b. What do you call those new species produced? ___________________________
c. Why does female mules produce infertile offspring? ________________________
d. Why does concept on biological species important to the scientist? ____________
Activity 2
Where you belong?
Objectives:
1. Classify living things into groups using common characteristics.
2. Group living things with similar characteristics or appearance.
Procedure: Do what is directed. Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.
1. Classify the living things in the box using your own preferences.
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Q1. Can you classify them easily? _______
What are your preferences in classifying them? ___________________
2. Using the graphic organizer below, group these organisms based on their similarities and
differences.
Q2. Why is it necessary to classify living things? ______________________
What Is It
Biodiversity is the variation among living organisms from different sources including
terrestrial, marine, and desert ecosystems, and the ecological complexes of which they are a
part. It describes the richness and variety of life on earth. It is the most complex and important
feature of our planet. Without biodiversity, life would not sustain.
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Biological Species Concept
Biological species is all of the populations of individuals that actually or can potentially
breed with each other in nature to produce fertile offspring. The result of this interbreeding is
movement of genes, called gene flow, throughout the species. Members of the same species
share a common group of genes—a gene pool—and a common evolutionary history. Should
members of different populations mate but produce no or no fertile offspring or very rarely
breed with each other even when present in the same location, they are considered different
biological species.
Nevertheless, the biological species concept gives scientists a snapshot of the
evolution of new species in many groups of plants and animals. This is likely to be the case if
individuals in the two populations meet the following two conditions:
♦ They usually breed together if they meet in the wild.
♦ Their breeding produces offspring able to produce their own offspring.
Levels of Biodiversity
Biodiversity is coined from the words, biological diversity. Usually, scientists would
refer to three levels of biodiversity namely: different kinds of organisms (species diversity),
genetic information that organisms contain (genetic diversity) and different kinds of places
where organisms live and the interconnections that bind these organisms together
(ecosystem diversity)
► Species diversity
Species diversity refers to the variety of different types of species found in a particular
area. It is the biodiversity at the most basic level. It includes all the species ranging from plants
to different microorganisms.
No two individuals of the same species are exactly similar. For example, humans show
a lot of diversity among themselves.
► Genetic diversity
It refers to the variations among the genetic resources of the organisms. Every
individual of a particular species differs from each other in their genetic constitution. That is
why every human looks different from each other. Similarly, there are different varieties in the
same species of rice, wheat, maize, barley, etc.
► Ecological diversity
An ecosystem is a collection of living and non-living organisms and their interaction
with each other. Ecological biodiversity refers to the variations in the plant and animal species
living together and connected by food chains and food webs.
It is the diversity observed among the different ecosystems in a region. Diversity in
different ecosystems like deserts, rainforests, mangroves, etc., include ecological diversity.
If there are a lot more organisms in the
world than you can count, how will you be
able to know and identify them? Is it
necessary to classify them?
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Classification based on the Typological Species Concept
The taxonomic classification system (also called the
Linnaean system after its inventor, Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish
botanist, zoologist, and physician) uses a hierarchical model.
Moving from the point of origin, the groups become more specific,
until one branch ends as a single species. For example, after the
common beginning of all life, scientists divide organisms into three
large categories called a domain: Bacteria, Archaea, and
Eukarya. Within each domain is a second category called a
kingdom. After kingdoms, the subsequent categories of increasing
specificity are phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. Figure 1. Carl Linnaeus
Figure 2. The Three Domains of Life.
The Six-Kingdom System of Classification
In line with the three domains of life, the six-kingdom system has been adapted to
reflect the difference between bacteria and archaea. In this system of classification, Kingdom
Monera in the five-kingdom system was replaced and divided into two distinct groups,
Kingdom Eubacteria and Kingdom Archaea, in addition to the four eukaryotic kingdoms
characterized above (Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia). Kingdom Eubacteria includes the
true bacteria and cyanobacteria, while Kingdom Archaea includes bacteria-like organisms that
live in extremely harsh environments, such as hot springs, volcanic vents, sewage treatment
plants, ocean floors, and swamp sediments.
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Figure 3. Kingdoms of the living world
Table 1. Comparison of major differences of the six kingdoms of the living world
Kingdom Structural Organization Method of Examples Known
Nutrition Species
Eubacteria Small, simple single Absorb food; Bacteria, 10 000+
prokaryotic cell (nucleus synthetic and cyanobacteria,
and organelles not chemosynthetic; and
enclosed by a symbionts spirochetes
membrane); Cell walls
with peptidoglycan; some
forms chains or mats
Archaea Small, simple single Chemotrophic Archaeans 500+
prokaryotic cell; cell wall (relying on the
without peptidoglycan chemicals around
them to produce
their own food)
Protista Large, single eukaryotic Absorb, ingest, Protozoans, 250 000+
cell (nucleus and and/or various types
organelles are enclosed photosynthesize of algae
by membranes); food (green, golden,
Unicellular and brown, algae)
multicellular; Cell wall with
cellulose in some; some
forms chains or colonies
Fungi Multicellular filamentous Absorb food Fungi, molds, 100 000+
form with specialized mushrooms,
eukaryotic cells; lack yeast, mildews
photosynthetic pigments; and smuts
Cell walls with chitin
Plantae Multicellular form with Photosynthesize Mossess, 350 000+
specialized eukaryotic food (Autotrophic) ferns, woody
cells with chlorophyll and and nonwoody
rigid cell walls with flowering
cellulose; inability to plants
locomote
Animalia Multicellular form with Ingest food Sponges, 1 000 000+
specialized eukaryotic (heterotrophic worms,
cells, cells without cell insects, fishes,
walls or chlorophylls; amphibians,
ability to locomote reptiles, birds
and mammals
In addition, it is important to note that there are organisms that are on the borderline
between living and nonliving worlds. These organisms include viruses, prions (proteinaceous
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infectious particle), and other noncellular entities. These are, therefore not included either in
the five-kingdom system or in six-kingdom system of classification.
This Linnaean system of classification was widely accepted during the nineteenth
century and still the basic framework for all taxonomy in the biological sciences today.
(Keep plates clean or family gets sick. Remember this statement, so you can easily rank them
without sweat).
Table 2. The Different Levels of Classifications
Another feature of Linnaean concept is the binomial nomenclature. The binomial
nomenclature is the system of giving living things a two-part name, which is Latinized. The
binomial nomenclature comprises the scientific name of the organism. During international
conferences, the scientific names erase the confusions brought about by using common
names. This idea of Linnaeus was very well accepted by the scientists of his time. His system
of classification is still used up to this present time, and this gave him the title Father of
Modern Taxonomy.
How are scientific names written using the
binomial nomenclature? Let’s have fun with
living things by naming some of them.
What’s More
Activity 3
What’s in a Name?
Objective: Identify the scientific name of some living organism.
Procedure: (Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.)
1. Study the table below on the sample classification of organism.
2. Answer the questions below. Write your answer on a separate sheet of paper.
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Questions:
1. Which organisms in Table 1 are similar up to the Order category? ___________________
2. Which organisms are most closely related? ___________ Why do you say so? ________
3. Can a dog and a wolf produce fertile offspring? ______ Explain your answer.
4. Examine the row for Species in the table. What have you noticed? _______________
5. Felis catus is the scientific name of domesticated cat. In what category does the first
name come from? _________________the second name come from _________________
6. Can you give the scientific name of the other organism on the table? ________________
What I Have Learned
Directions: Fill in the blanks. Choose the correct word/words in the box to match the correct
description of the statement. Write the letter of the correct answer on a separate
sheet of paper.
Biodiversity Genetic Diversity Species Diversity
Binomial Nomenclature Kingdom Taxonomy
Domain Linnaeus
Ecological Diversity Species
1. He is known as the "father of modern taxonomy".
2. It refers to all species and living things on Earth or in a specific ecosystem.
3. It is defined as the number of species and abundance of each species that live in a
particular location.
4. It refers to the range of different inherited traits within a species.
5. This is the number of species in a community of organisms.
6. The scientific study of naming, defining, and classifying groups of biological organisms
based on shared characteristics.
7. The highest taxonomic rank in the hierarchical biological classification system, above the
kingdom level.
8. The second highest taxonomic rank, just below domain.
9. The biological system of naming the organisms.
10. The level of biological classification comprising related organisms that share common
characteristics and are capable of interbreeding.
What I Can Do
Directions: Look around your surroundings. Identify and list at least 20 organisms that you
can find. Group them according to your preferences and give reasons of grouping
them.
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Assessment
It’s time to check what you have learned!
Directions: Write the letter of the correct answer on a separate sheet of paper.
1. Which of the following CORRECTLY describes the biological species concept?
A. Members of the same species can interbreed.
B. Members of a species have a single gene pool.
C. This concept does not apply to asexual organisms.
D. All of these choices describe the biological species concept correctly.
2. What is referred to all the different genes contained within all members of a population?
A. biodiversity B. ecosystem C. genetic D. species
3. Which of the following concept states that the same species can potentially breed with
each other in nature to produce fertile offspring?
A. Biological Species Concept C. Genotypic Species Concept
B. Ecological Species Concept D. Morphological Species Concept
4. Why is Biological Species Concept important to the scientist? This is because it ___.
A. is the rule that defines biology.
B. is a tool that helps scientists work.
C. gives a snapshot of the evolution of new species.
D. is like to be the known diversity and identified concept.
5. Which of the following conditions where breeding populations apply the biological concept
of species?
A. in nature C. viable reproductive group
B. in experimental conditions D. can be recognized by observation only
6. What does gene flow mean? It means __________.
A. mating between close relatives
B. the exchange of genes during fertilization
C. the migrations of species populations to a new area
D. the movement of genes between species populations
7. Who is known as the Father of Modern Taxonomy?
A. Aristotle B. Darwin C. Linnaeus D. Plato
8. A biologist examines a group of unknown cells from an organism under a microscope and
notices the presence of nuclei within cells and its cell walls are composed of cellulose. What
kingdom does an organism come from?
A. Animalia B. Bacteria C. Fungi D. Protista
9. What classification system uses two names?
A. taxonomy levels C. classification studies
B. biological system D. binomial nomenclature
10. What is considered the science of identifying, classifying, and naming living things?
A. biodiversity B. classification C. identification D. taxonomy
11. The scientific name for lion is Panthera leo. What is its species name?
A. leo B. lion C. felidae D. panthera
12. Which of the following BEST describes taxonomy? It is _____.
A. a method of scientifically naming species that were once created and never
changes
B. the art of preparing, stuffing, and mounting the skins of animals with a lifelike
effect
C. classifying organisms that reflect their biological ancestry and is often the subject
or revision
D. an organization that study living organisms and is divided into many specialized
fields of origin, and distribution
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13. What is the CORRECT order of classification from broadest to most specific?
A. class, domain, family, genus, kingdom, order, phylum, species
B. domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species
C. species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom, domain
D. genus, species, family, class, order, phylum, kingdom, domain
14. Which of the following is NOT a rule in writing the name of an organism, based on the
principles of biological nomenclature? The name _____.
A. should be written in Latin
B. of the class should be italicized
C. of the species should begin in small letters
D. of the genus should begin in capital letters
15. Which of the following kingdoms have unicellular eukaryotic organisms?
A. Archaea B. Eubacteria C. Fungi D. Protista
Additional Activities
Directions: Complete the graphic organizer below to show your four significant learnings on
the Taxonomic Levels of Classification. Write your answer on a separate sheet
of paper.
References:
Printed References:
Campo, Pia C. et al.,2013. Science 8 Learner’s Module, First Edition. Vibal Publishing
House, Inc., Philippines
Madriaga, Estrellita A., et al.,2015. Science Link 8, Revised Edition. REX Printing Company,
Inc., Philippines
Ferriols-Pavico, Josefina Ma., et al., 2013. Exploring Life Through Science Series, Phoenix
Publishing House, Inc., Quezon City, Philippines
Website References:
https://byjus.com/biology/biodiversity/
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-biology1/chapter/reading-the-taxonomic-
classification-system/
https://microbiologysociety.org/why-microbiology-matters/what-is-microbiology/bacteria.html
https://store.lab-aids.com/assets/What_is_a_Species_Student_Pages.pdf
Sci8_q4_mod5_v2.pdf
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