Chapter 17.1, Problem 5MI

Summary Introduction

To identify:

The parts of Linnaeus’ two- word naming system by completing the given graphic organizer.

Introduction:

Taxonomy is study of identifying, naming and classifying species based on natural relationships. The taxonomic categories are part of a nested hierarchal system- each category is contained within another, as they are arranged from broadest to most specific.

Linnaeus’s system of classification was the first formal system of taxonomic organization. His method of naming organisms is called binomial nomenclature.

Answer to Problem 5MI

Explanation of Solution

Linnaeus’s method of naming organisms is called binomial nomenclature. It gives each species a scientific name which is written in two parts; a genus name and a specific name.

A genus consists of a group of similar species. The second word which describes the characteristic of an organism is called specific epithet.

Thus the scientific name for each species, referred to as the specific name is a combination of the genus name and a specific epithet.

For example, the species name of modern humans is Homo sapiens . The genus is Homo . The characteristic of humans is intelligence. The Latin word sapiens means “wise”.

The widespread use of this system has made it very popular.