Classification and Taxonomy Levels
What is the taxonomy level immediately above species?
Who devised and introduced the modern system of binomial nomenclature?
Linnaeus.
What is considered the basic structural and functional unit of all living organisms?
The cell.
To which major group of organisms do bacteria belong, characterized by the absence of a membrane-bound nucleus?
Prokaryotes.
Which organelle is present in plant cells to perform photosynthesis, but completely absent in animal cells?
Chloroplast.
Which of the domains includes organisms like protists, fungi and plants?
Eukaryotes
In the scientific name Escherichia coli, what does the second word "coli" represent?
The species.
What term describes the ability of living organisms to detect and react to a stimulus?
Sensitivity.
What rigid structure surrounds the plasma membrane in bacteria, giving them shape and protection?
The cell wall.
What is the primary function of the large central vacuole found in mature plant cells?
To store water and nutrients, and to maintain turgor pressure.
What is the correct hierarchy of taxonomy levels, from the most to least inclusive?
Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.
What are the basic typographical formatting rules for correctly writing a scientific name?
It must be written in italics (or underlined if handwritten), with the Genus capitalized, the specific epithet entirely in lowercase and in Latin.
Which molecule is universally recognized as the hereditary material (carrying genetic information) in all known living organisms?
DNA
What are the small, circular, extra-chromosomal DNA molecules that bacteria can exchange, often carrying antibiotic resistance genes and are used in Biotechnology?
Plasmids.
Which organelles, primarily responsible for intracellular digestion and the recycling of cellular waste, are common in animal cells but typically absent in plants?
Lysosomes.
What is the name of the key that is required to identify living organisms?
Dichotomous key.
Why do biologists prefer scientific (binomial) names over common names?
Because common names vary by language and region, whereas scientific names are universal and unique worldwide.
Plants are the only autotrophic living organism. True or false?
What is the primary thread-like appendix used by many bacteria for motility?
The flagellum.
State the functions of the smooth and rough ER
the smooth ER produces lipids and the rough ER produces proteins.
Which taxon groups together closely related classes within an animal kingdom?
Phylum.
Define genus.
Two organisms belong to the same genus if they have a common ancestor.
What is the difference in nutrition between an animal and a fungus?
Animals are heterotrophic by ingestion, fungi are heterotrophic by absorption.
What is the difference in composition between the cell wall in bacterial, fungal and plant cells?
The cell wall in bacteria is made of peptidoglycan, the cell wall in fungi is made of chitin, the cell wall in plants is made of cellulose.
What is the main energy storage polysaccharide accumulated by plant cells, compared to the glycogen used by animal cells?
Starch.