Week 5 Lab Systematics
Virtual Systematics Lab: Introduction to Systematics Worksheet
Learning Goal: To learn how biologists classify species based on their evolutionary relationships.
Prerequisite Knowledge: Before beginning this lab, you should be familiar with these concepts: why biologists today use the three-domain system of classification how evolutionary trees depict biologists’ understandings about the evolutionary relationships among groups of organisms
Introduction: Almost every place on Earth, from the surface of your skin to the bottom of the ocean, is teeming with living things. To keep track of the vast diversity of life, biologists historically named and classified organisms according to their appearance. The system of categorizing organisms is known as taxonomy. Today, scientists classify organisms into taxonomic groups (taxa) according to their evolutionary history. This discipline is known as systematics.
The Virtual Systematics Lab features a collection of pictures and descriptions of diverse species that represent major evolutionary pathways. In the Systematics Lab, you can explore five different taxonomic classification schemes that biologists have used--from the traditional Linnaean scheme to the current three-domain system.
In this activity, you will learn how to use the Virtual Systematics Lab to identify the characteristics that various organisms share and to determine the relatedness of different taxa.
Part A
Enter the Systematics Lab Room by clicking the button. Then, follow the lab procedure.
Lab Procedure
1. Locate the main window of the Systematics Lab Room--it is the large white box that shows taxonomic pathways, commonly known as evolutionary trees.
What three taxa appear in the main window when you first enter the Systematics Lab Room? At what level of classification are these three taxa?
ANSWER:
The three taxa that appear when the lab opens are: Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya. All three of these titles are domain names which is the first tier
Learning Goal: To learn how biologists classify species based on their evolutionary relationships.
Prerequisite Knowledge: Before beginning this lab, you should be familiar with these concepts: why biologists today use the three-domain system of classification how evolutionary trees depict biologists’ understandings about the evolutionary relationships among groups of organisms
Introduction: Almost every place on Earth, from the surface of your skin to the bottom of the ocean, is teeming with living things. To keep track of the vast diversity of life, biologists historically named and classified organisms according to their appearance. The system of categorizing organisms is known as taxonomy. Today, scientists classify organisms into taxonomic groups (taxa) according to their evolutionary history. This discipline is known as systematics.
The Virtual Systematics Lab features a collection of pictures and descriptions of diverse species that represent major evolutionary pathways. In the Systematics Lab, you can explore five different taxonomic classification schemes that biologists have used--from the traditional Linnaean scheme to the current three-domain system.
In this activity, you will learn how to use the Virtual Systematics Lab to identify the characteristics that various organisms share and to determine the relatedness of different taxa.
Part A
Enter the Systematics Lab Room by clicking the button. Then, follow the lab procedure.
Lab Procedure
1. Locate the main window of the Systematics Lab Room--it is the large white box that shows taxonomic pathways, commonly known as evolutionary trees.
What three taxa appear in the main window when you first enter the Systematics Lab Room? At what level of classification are these three taxa?
ANSWER:
The three taxa that appear when the lab opens are: Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya. All three of these titles are domain names which is the first tier