The Classification Of Creatures
Listen to part of a lecture in a biology class.
- What is the lecture mainly about?
- A. The importance of classifying living organisms
- B. The history of biological classification
- C. The impact of the microscope on biological classification
- D. The naming of newly discovered organisms
- Why does the professor describe “lumpers” and “splitters”?
- A. To emphasize one difference between early and modern biologists
- B. To point out that early biological classifications were not based on scientific principles
- C. To give examples of categories in early biological classification systems
- D. To identify approaches that have shaped the development of biological classification systems
- What can be inferred about biologists before the time of Carolus Linnaeus?
- A. They did not agree on the names of many living things.
- B. Very few of them used microscopes.
- C. They were puzzled by the discovery of microorganisms that lacked a nucleus.
- D. They had to be fluent in several languages in order to publish their research.
- What does the professor mention as two characteristics of extremophiles?
[CHOOSE 2 ANSWERS]
- A. They live in harsh environments.
- B. They are much larger than most other types of bacteria.
- C. In their structure they may resemble viruses.
- D. In their biochemistry, they may be similar to plants and animals.
- What is the professor’s attitude toward the current system of biological classification?
- A. She is surprised that biologists have not changed the system for so many years.
- B. She is upset that so many unnecessary distinctions have been added.
- C. She is not confident that the system has been finalized.
- D. She is eager for biologists to adopt a completely new system.
- What does the professor imply when she says this: 🎧
- A. The microscope was developed specifically for the purpose of studying and classifying microorganisms.
- B. The invention of the microscope enabled scientists to confirm predictions about the characteristics of microorganisms.
- C. Organisms discovered with early microscopes were classified according to categories that Aristotle established.
- D. Microscopes helped scientists clarify distinctions between the plant kingdom and the animal kingdom.
B D A AD C C