The Living World: Important Questions

Very Short Answer Questions (1 Mark Questions)

Ques. What is Taxonomy?

Ans. Taxonomy is the branch of science that deals with naming, identification, and classifying living organisms. Animals, plants, and microbes living on the earth are studied in the taxonomy. 

Ques. What do you mean by Systematics?

Ans. The science of naming species and studying the evolutionary history of organisms through time is termed Systematics. The interrelation of organisms present on the earth and their surrounding environment can be studied with the help of systematics.

Ques. What are the three fields of Systematics?

Ans. The three fields of Systematics are as follows-

• Nomenclature
• Classification
• Taxonomy

Ques. Who are the three botanists who contributed to the field of plant Taxonomy?

Ans. the botanists who contributed to the field of plant taxonomy are as follows-

1. Carl Linnaeus
2. G Bentham
3. Joseph Dalton Hooker

Read More: Taxonomic Hierarchy of Plants and Animals

Ques. Which organization dictates the correct use of the scientific name of animals?

Ans. ICZN (International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature) is the organization known for giving specific names to the organisms. 

Ques. What are the names of two famous botanical gardens?

Ans. The two famous botanical gardens are Kew (England) and National Botanical Research Institute (Lucknow) or Indian Botanical Garden (Howrah).

Ques. What is Chemotaxonomy?

Ans. Chemotaxonomy is the sub-branch of taxonomy that deals with the classification of plants and animals based on similarities and differences in biochemical composition.

Ques. What is biodiversity?

Ans. The variation of life forms in a specific area is referred to as biodiversity. It covers plants, animals, microbes that contributes to the ecosystem. 

Read More: Biodiversity in Plants and Animals

Ques. Name the three codes of Nomenclature?

Ans. International Code of Botanical, Zoological and Bacteriological nomenclature are the three codes of Nomenclature.

Ques. What do you mean by the Taxonomic keys?

Ans. A printed or computer-aided device that helps in the identification of certain biological entities is called taxonomic keys.

Ques. What is the highest category of classification?

Ans. The highest category of classification for any organism is the ‘Kingdom’.

Ques. Give the list of the building blocks of life?

Ans. The building blocks of life are as follows-

• Carbohydrates
• Lipids
• Proteins
• Nucleic acids

Ques. What is the unit of classification?

Ans. The unit of classification is rank or category.

Ques. Who gave the binomial name of classification?

Ans. Carolus Linnaeus is credited for the Binomial name of classification of organisms.

Ques. Write the eight levels of taxonomy?

Ans. The eight levels of Taxonomy classification are as follows- Domain- Kingdom- Phylum- Class- Order- Family- Genus- Species. 

Read More: Five Kingdom Classification

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Short Answer Questions (2 Marks Questions)

Ques. Why do the organisms are given scientific names?

Ans. The living organisms are given scientific names because of the following reasons-

• They are accepted in all parts of the world because they are based on universally accepted principles.
• The clear relationship and distinction between other organisms can be easily made by scientific naming criteria.

Ques. Why do the brinjal and potato belong to the same genus but different species?

Ans. The reasons behind the same genus and different species of brinjal and potato are following: 

• The process of interbreeding is not possible in brinjal and potato.
• Due to their morphological dissimilarity. 

Ques. What are the characteristic features of living organisms?

Ans. The characteristic features of living organisms are as follows-

• They remain conscious throughout their life.
• An important feature of living organisms are reproduction.
• They can grow and perform metabolic activities.
• They exhibit the cellular level of organization.

Read More: Cell Organelles

Ques. What is the Importance of Botanical gardens?

Ans. The importance of botanical gardens is as follows-

• They help in maintaining the record of local flora.
• Plant species are grown for research and identification.
• For taxonomic studies, they provide plant material.

Ques. Give a reason- ‘Why growth and reproduction cannot be taken as defining properties of living beings’?

Ans. Growth and reproduction cannot be taken as defining properties of living beings because of the following reasons-

• Some living organisms such as worker bees, mules, etc. are sterile (not able to reproduce).
• Even non-living organisms can increase in mass by the process called accretion (accumulation of material).

Ques. Write down the building blocks of the living organisms?

Ans. Both organic and inorganic biomolecules are considered the basic building blocks of living organisms-

• Proteins
• Carbohydrates
• Lipids
• Nucleic acid
• Oxygen
• Water
• Sodium Chloride

Ques. What are the expanded forms of the- ICVN, ICBN, ICZN, ICNB?

Ans. The full form of ICVN, ICBN, ICZN, and ICNB are as follows: 

• ICVN- The International Code of Viral Nomenclature.
• ICBN- The International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.
• ICZN- The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.
• ICNB- The Institute for Nature Conservation and Biodiversity.

Ques. List the Importance of museums in studying Systematics in the living world.

Ans. The importance of the museum in studying Systematics is as follows-

• They have a collection of plants and animals.
• Specimens are also deposited in museums which give necessary information regarding plants or animals.
• They include information on both local flora and fauna as well as information from other locations.

Ques. What do you mean by taxon? Give example also.

Ans. In the hierarchical classification, a taxon represents the group of organisms at each level based on some common characteristics. A taxon can be Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species.

Ex- All the birds are classified under Aves.

Ques. What are the differences between Taxonomy and Systematics in the living world?

Ans. The differences between Taxonomy and Systematics in the living world are tabulated below: 

Read More: Diversity In Living Organism

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Long Answer Type Questions (3 Marks Questions) 

Ques. What are Endemic species and Exotic species in the living world? Give examples also.

Ans. Exotic species are those species of living organisms that live in a place other than their native place. Eichhornia is an excellent example of exotic species found primarily in the Amazon basin, and introduced as an exotic species in India. On the other hand, species which are found only in their particular native region are known as endemic species. Rauvolfia plant comes under the category of endemic species which is found only in India.

Ques. Write down the steps to set up a herbarium?

Ans. The following steps are taken to set up a herbarium-

• To get plant parts such as leaves, seeds, or flowers you need to visit a specific area.
• Collect all the information about plants such as habitat, collecting season and time, geography, etc.
• Instruments such as notebook, digger, scissor, polythene, knife, newspaper, etc are also required.
• Dry the specimen and change the paper sheets after 3-4 days. Stick the dried specimens on herbarium sheets.
• Write down its place of collection, time of collection, common name, scientific name, etc. Don’t forget to label the specimen.

Ques. What are the main objectives of Classification?

Ans. The objectives of Classification are as follows:

• To quickly recognize a species whether it is known or unknown.
• To provide some help in describing and recognizing different species.
• To distribute the qualities at different levels of hierarchy.
• To create a natural relationship based on phylogeny based on Organic resemblance.

Read More: Extinction

Ques. What are the reasons that the number and kind of organisms are not constant?

Ans. The number and kind of organisms are not constant because of the following reasons-

• Mutations due to DNA copying mistakes, radiation, exposure to chemicals can cause changes in the DNA sequence. It leads to variation.
• Some environmental threats such as pollution, climate change, ozone depletion can also cause the loss of certain Species.
• Anthropogenic activities such as the release of industrial waste, incineration of fossil fuels, mining, etc result in the loss of species.
• Loss of habitats of certain species due to human activities or natural disasters is also one of the major reasons for the extinction of certain species.
• Sexual reproduction leads to variation and hence the offspring will be different from their parents in many aspects.

Ques. Write down the differences between Classical taxonomy and Modern taxonomy?

Ans. The differences between Classical taxonomy and Modern taxonomy are as follows-

Read More: Principles of Inheritance and Variation

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Very Long Answer Questions (5 Marks)

Ques. Define Taxonomy. Write down its characteristic features.

Ans. The branch of science that deals with the study of the classification of organisms based on evolutionary relationships are known as Taxonomy.

Features of Taxonomy

• The value of species as a whole is diminished because much of the work is done with species subgroups.
• The biological characteristics such as ecology, genetics, geography, cytology, and behaviour are taken into consideration.
• Species are regarded as dynamic units.

Ques. What is a living thing? List down the defining characteristics of living organisms?

Ans. A thing that can grow, reproduce, perform metabolic activities, remain conscious, and exhibit a cellular level of organization is termed a living being.

The characteristic features of living organisms are as follows-

• The cellular level of organization- Living organisms should exhibit a cellular level of organization i.e. they should be made up of cells. The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of life.
• Growth- When an organism increases its size or mass, they exhibit their growth.
• Metabolism- The chemical reactions which take place in the body of living organisms is known as metabolic reactions. It is an important feature of a living organism.
• Reproduction- The ability of an organism to produce its young ones through sexual or asexual means is referred to as reproduction. Living organisms reproduce to maintain the continuity of their Species.

Ques. What do you mean by Taxonomic aids? Explain various types of taxonomic aids used for Identification?

Ans. The devices which are used for the study, identification and classification of organisms are known as Taxonomic aids. The various types of taxonomic aids are as follows-

• Museum- Museums are buildings that have collections of preserved plants and animal species. These specimens are used for study and reference.
• Herbarium- They are also known as the storehouse of collected plant specimens. Here, plants are dried, pressed, preserved, and arranged systematically to provide information on sheets.
• Zoological parks- Commonly known as animal parks, it is a place where animals are kept in their natural habitat. Here, they are provided enclosures, food, protection, etc.
• Botanical gardens- They are the institutions where plants are collected, cultivated, preserved, and displayed. They are maintained for reference and identification purposes. Plants are labelled with their biological names.