OK.
So we have this really big group of living things that exist on earth. To
divide them up, we first put them into one of five KINGDOMS. Here they are,
with their defining characteristics & some examples.(you should
memorize this)

Yes, I know it
looks like a lot to remember. But who said this wasn't going to require you to
WORK ? Here are a couple generalizations that may help you keep some of that
table straight :

1)
only 1 Kingdom has organisms that are prokaryotic (the Moneran Kingdom)2) For the most
part, any organism that is unicellular & eukaryotic is a Protist
(one exception is YEAST, a unicellular fungus)3) Fungi have the
same characteristics as Plants except that Fungi are heterotrophic & Plants
are autotrophic, and their cell walls are different4) Animals are the
only motile multicellular group5) Most of the
autotrophic organism we study have chlorophyll which gives them a greenish
appearance. So being "green" is an important clue --- it indicates
they are autotrophic (ex: blue-green algae, algae, plants).

So, how are you doing ? Shall we
try some questions to see how much of that 'Kingdom Table' has stuck to your
brain ? Good idea. Let's play ...

WHAT KINGDOM IS IT ?!

For
each description or example, name the kingdom it belongs in. Your choices are :
animal,
plant, fungi, protist or moneran. Jot down all your answers & then look at the answers.

If
you got 7 or more of those right I'd say you're ready to go on. If not, study
the table more & try the questions a second time (just a suggestion).In any case, we need
to take a closer look inside each kingdom at some of the important
"phyla". A phylum is the first subgroup within a kingdom. I've
outlines the "more important" phyla of each kingdom in the next table
& given some examples too.

KINGDOM

PHYLUM

CHARACTERISTICS

EXAMPLE(S)

MONERA

blue-green algae

autotrophic

blue-green algae

bacteria

heterotrophic

StreptococcusStaphylococcus

PROTIST

algae(plant-like)

autotrophic

"sea
weeds"diatomsSpirogyra

protozoa(animal-like)

heterotrophic

AmebaParamecium

FUNGI

the
thing to remember about this kingdom is that most are multicellular
(mushrooms, molds, mildew) and a few are unicellular (yeast). don't worry
about specific phyla names. :)

PLANTS

bryophyte

nonvascular plants
(small & simple)

mossesliverworts

tracheophyte

vascular plants

treesflowering
plantsferns

ANIMAL

coelenterates

tentacleshollow body
cavity

hydrajellyfish

annelids

worms with segmented
bodies

earthworm

arthropods

exoskeletonsjointed legs

grasshopperslobstersspiders

chordates

have a notochord (nerve
chord) & usually a backbone

humans & other
mammalsbirdsreptilesamphibians fish

Yeah, I know, looks like alot
more stuff to remember. If you haven't noticed yet, this course requires
studying. No way around it. So study the table a little & try these KINGDOM
REVIEW QUESTIONS :1) The presence
of vascular tissue for transporting liquids is characteristic of :A. fernsB. mossesC. slime moldsD. algae

4) Euglena
is a eukaryotic single-celled organism that possesses chlorophyll but has no
cell wall. It also has a mouth & swims using a structure called a
flagellum. It is most reasonable to classify Euglena as a :A. plantB. animalC. protistD. blue-green algae

4)A. plant -
multicellularB. animal -
multicellularC.
protist - since it is "unicellular" it has to be either a moneran or
a protist, since its "eukaryotic" Euglena is classified as a
protistD. blue-green
algae - unicellular but prokaryotic (a MONERAN)