Classification of Living Organisms (AQA GCSE Biology)

Exam Questions

1 hour10 questions
1a4 marks

Complete the sentence using the correct words from the box below.

You will not need to use every word from the box. 

A species is a group of similar _____________ that belong to the classification group below ___________. They can ____________ naturally with one another and produce _____________ offspring. 

animals          reproduce          living          phylum

genus          organisms          fertile          mix

1b1 mark

Figure 1 shows a bald eagle, an iconic species in North America.

Figure 1

bald-eagle-1

Which of A - D shows the correct way to write the bald eagle's binomial name? 

  • haliaeetus leucocephalus

  • Haliaeetus leucocephalus

  • haliaeetus leucocephalus

  • Haliaeetus leucocephalus

1c1 mark

Seven levels of classification of organisms are shown in Table 1, in descending order of size.

Two of the group names have been placed in the wrong sequence.

Identify which two. 

Table 1

Kingdom

Phylum

Class

Family

Order

Genus

Species

1d1 mark

Name the biologist who gave his name to the system of classification referred to in Question 1c). 

Did this page help you?

2a1 mark

Which scientist first devised and set up the three-domain system of classification of organisms? 

  • Carl Woese

  • Carl Linnaeus

  • Charles Darwin

  • Gregor Mendel

2b3 marks

Name the three domains of the three-domain system of biological classification. 

2c3 marks

Figure 2 shows the three domains referred to in Question 2b), along with a number of descriptions which apply to each of the three domains.

Figure 2

3-d-1

Using a straight line, draw one line from each domain to the description that is unique to it. 

2d2 marks

Which of these two statements is correct?

  1. All eukaryotes are multicellular organisms.

  2. All multicellular organisms are eukaryotes.

Explain your answer.

Did this page help you?

3a1 mark

Diagrams A - D below show four species, W, X, Y and Z in an evolutionary tree. 

phylo-tree-mcq-1

In which of A - D is species Y most closely related to species Z?

3b3 marks

Figure 3 shows an evolutionary tree for a number of plant groups. 

Figure 3

phylogenetic-diagram-1

Complete the sentence using the correct words from the box.

The green algae in Figure 3 represents the __________________ of all the plant groups shown. The liverwort's least closely related group is the ______________. A common feature among all the groups shown is the ability to perform ______________.

hornworts               common ancestor          nearest descendent

angiosperms               sexual reproduction           photosynthesis

3c2 marks

Of the plant groups shown in Figure 3 in Question 3b), the angiosperms are a wide group of plants that produce flowers and fruit. 

Aside from differences in appearance to the naked eye, name two techniques that scientists can use to classify plant species within the angiosperm group. 

3d2 marks

Figure 4 shows an adult and infant capybara, the largest species of rodent in the world. 

Figure 4

capybara-1

The capybara belongs to the following classification groups, in descending order of size. 

  1. Eukaryotes

  2. Animals

  3. Chordates

  4. Mammals

  5. Rodents

  6. Caviidae

  7. Hydrochoerus

  8. hydrochaeris

Name the family and the class that the capybara belongs to.

Did this page help you?

1a2 marks

The King Penguin and Emperor Penguin are two species of penguin.

Collectively they are known as “the great penguins”.

Define the term species.

1b2 marks

Table 1 below shows part of the classification of both species.

Table 1

Classification group

King Penguin

Emperor Penguin

 

Animalia

Animalia

 

Chordata

Chordata

Class

Aves

Aves

 

Sphenisciformes

Sphenisciformes

Family

Spheniscidae

Spheniscidae

 

Aptenodytes

Aptenodytes

Species

patagonicus

forsteri

Some of the classification groups are missing from the table above.

Complete the table.

1c1 mark

Give the binomial name of the Emperor Penguin.

1d2 marks

Suggest a reason why the binomial naming system is a useful way of helping scientists classify organisms.

Did this page help you?

2a1 mark

A group of students were investigating fruit flies for a school project.

Fruit flies belong to the classification kingdom ‘Animalia’.

What type of cells are found in a fruit fly?

2b3 marks

The way that scientists classify organisms has changed over time.

In the 1970’s Carl Woese developed a classification system called the ‘three-domain system’.

Name the three domains.

2c3 marks

State and explain which domain fruit flies belong to in the three-domain system.

2d3 marks

The students collected three different types of fruit fly to study.

The three species of fruit fly were Ceratitis capitata, Dacus dorsalis and Dacus oleae.

What do these names suggest about the evolutionary relationships between these fruit fly species?

Explain your answer.

Did this page help you?

3a1 mark

In 1753, the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus published his book Species Plantarum.

Every known species of plant known at the time was listed in this book.

The plants were classified into groups called genera and each individual species was given a binomial name.

Name the two classification groups that are identifiable in a binomial name.

3b6 marks

Scientists have been classifying organisms into groups for centuries.

Modern technological developments have enhanced the ability of scientists to classify organisms into groups and to understand the evolutionary relationships between them.

Describe how the process of classifying organisms has changed over time.

Did this page help you?

4a1 mark

Figure 1 shows part of the evolutionary tree for penguins.

Figure 1

ehgU9mNq_1

What does the evolutionary tree in Figure 1 tell us about the evolution of the Emperor and King penguins in relation to other species of penguin?

4b3 marks

What evidence is used by scientists to build an evolutionary tree to show the relatedness of organisms?

4c2 marks

Suggest why scientists view evolutionary trees as “a hypothesis of the evolutionary past”.

Did this page help you?

5a1 mark

Evolutionary trees are a method to show how scientists believe organisms are related.

Part of the evolutionary tree for the Canidae family, which includes the domestic dog, is shown in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2

-G6druvZ_2

Draw a line and mark an ‘X’ on Figure 2 to show where the last common ancestor for the species’ Canis latrans and Canis lupus is.

5b3 marks

In the evolutionary tree shown in Figure 2, the domestic dog has the same binomial name as the gray wolf, but has been given an additional subspecies name, familiaris.

Suggest why domestic dogs might be classified in this way.

5c4 marks

Five million years of evolution is represented by the evolutionary tree in Figure 2.

Explain how several different species of canine could have evolved from a common ancestor over 5 million years.

5d2 marks

Scientists use molecular data and DNA analysis to develop evolutionary trees such as those shown in Figure 2.

The enzymes involved in aerobic respiration can be studied to determine the relationships between different members of the canine family.

Explain how DNA sequencing of an enzyme involved in aerobic respiration could have been used to determine the relationship between the domestic dog, grey wolf and coyote.

Did this page help you?

1a3 marks

When attempting to classify organisms based on their characteristics, several types of difference between organisms can be observed. These are shown in Table 1.

Table 1

Differences

Description

A

Differences observable under a microscope

B

Anatomical differences

C

Differences in DNA base sequences

D

Morphological differences

E

Differences in amino acid sequences

Complete the table below to reorder differences A - E, ranking them according to the amount of detail they provide, starting from the least detailed.

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

 

 

 

 

 

1b2 marks

When carrying out DNA comparisons between species, explain why the same gene has to be selected from each species for sequencing. 

1c4 marks

Table 1 gives information about the amino acids that go into the chain of haemoglobin found in the blood of various animal species. The second column shows how many amino acids are different in the haemoglobin of that species to that of humans. 

Table 1

Animal

Number of amino acids different to human haemoglobin

Human

0

Chicken

45

Dog

15

Frog

67

Gibbon

2

Gorilla

1

Grey kangaroo

38

Horse

25

Mouse

27

Based on your knowledge of classification and on the data in Table 1, draw a labelled evolutionary tree for the animals listed. 

1d
Sme Calculator
3 marks

This question refers to the data in Table 1.

Humans and gibbons evolved separately from a common ancestor about 18 million years ago.

Calculate an estimate of how many years ago the evolution of frogs diverged from that of humans. 

Give your answer in standard form. 

Did this page help you?

2a1 mark

The system of classification of organisms devised by Carl Linnaeus can be described as follows:

A hierarchical classification system of organisms in biology that is used to organise and group similar organisms together so that they can be more easily understood. A hierarchical system is one in which larger groups contain smaller groups with no overlap between groups.

Explain why it is important for there to be no overlap between groups. 

2b3 marks

Suggest the benefits to biology of classifying organisms in a hierarchical system like the Linnaean system.

2c2 marks

Scientists investigating extinct species have used the fossil record to piece together evolutionary timelines for those organisms. 

Sometimes the bodies of well-preserved animals are discovered, such as the woolly mammoth, Yuka, found in ice in Siberia in 2012. 

Suggest the possible benefits of having a well-preserved animal carcass to examine, as opposed to fossils alone. 

2d2 marks

Explain why species that share a recent common ancestor have more similarities than species with a distant common ancestor.

Did this page help you?