The Living World for NEET UG
With millions of species on Earth, biologists need a system to name and group them. This chapter covers what makes something alive, binomial naming and the taxonomic hierarchy.
BiologyClass 1174 MCQs2 lessons12 flashcards2 memory tricks
Practise The Living World free
What you'll learn
- What is living, and how organisms are named
List the defining features of life and write scientific names correctly. - The taxonomic hierarchy
Arrange the taxonomic categories in order and classify a familiar organism.
Memory tricks
Kingdom, Phylum (Division in plants), Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.
Binomial nomenclature: genus capitalised, species in small letters, italic in print, underlined separately when handwritten, often followed by the author's name (Linn.).
Try 3 NEET-style questions
Q1. In museums, insects are usually preserved
- in insect boxes after collecting, killing and pinning
- alive in cages
- stuffed like birds
- dissolved in water
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Answer: (1) in insect boxes after collecting, killing and pinning
Insects are preserved in insect boxes after collecting, killing and pinning. Larger animals like birds and mammals are usually stuffed and preserved. Museums often also have skeletons.
Q2. Which international code governs the naming of animals?
- International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN)
- International Code for Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN)
- World Health Organisation
- Indian Botanical Garden, Howrah
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Answer: (1) International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN)
Plant names follow the International Code for Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN); animal names follow the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN).
Q3. A taxonomic key is mainly used for
- identifying plants and animals based on contrasting characters
- preserving dried plant specimens for many years
- giving new species their Latin scientific names
- growing rare plants for study in the open
Show answer
Answer: (1) identifying plants and animals based on contrasting characters
A key uses pairs of contrasting characters (couplets) to lead step by step to the identity of an organism.
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