Keys to the Kingdom of Life Name: Date: Use this key to find the name of the kingdom to which each organism belongs. A. Organism is unicellular or colonial (containing many single cells). Few are multicellular with specialized structures Go to 2 1 OR B. Organism is multicellular Go to 4 A. Organism is prokaryotic, is unicellular, and has no cell organelles (no nucleus) Go to 3 2 OR B. Organism may be unicellular, colonial, or multicellular with visible nuclei Kingdom Protista A. Thrives in very harsh environments—hot springs, deep-sea hydrothermal vents, extremely salty or acidic water Kingdom Archaebacteria 3 OR B. May be a decomposer or parasite or lives within other creatures. The prefix Eu means Kingdom Eubacteria “true” A. Multicellular; cells have cell walls Go to 5 4 OR B. Multicellular; cells do not have cell walls Kingdom Animalia A. Multicellular; cell are made of cellulose; perform photosynthesis Kingdom Plantae OR 5 B. Multicellular; cell walls are made of chitin (a tough flexible carbohydrate). Get energy for growth mostly from dead organisms. Body is formed from tangled, thread-like structures called hyphae Kingdom Fungi
Keys to the Kingdom of Life Name: Date: Use this key to find the name of the kingdom to which each organism belongs. 1 A. Organism is unicellular or colonial (containing many single cells). Few are multicellular with specialized structures Go to 2 OR B. Organism is multicellular Go to 4 2 A. Organism is prokaryotic, is unicellular, and has no cell organelles (no nucleus) Go to 3 OR B. Organism may be unicellular, colonial, or multicellular with visible nuclei Kingdom Protista 3 A. Thrives in very harsh environments—hot springs, deep-sea hydrothermal vents, extremely salty or acidic water Kingdom Archaebacteria OR B. May be a decomposer or parasite or lives within other creatures. The prefix Eu means “true” Kingdom Eubacteria 4 A. Multicellular; cells have cell walls Go to 5 OR B. Multicellular; cells do not have cell walls Kingdom Animalia 5 A. Multicellular; cell are made of cellulose; perform photosynthesis Kingdom Plantae OR B. Multicellular; cell walls are made of chitin (a tough flexible carbohydrate). Get energy for growth mostly from dead organisms. Body is formed from tangled, thread-like structures called hyphae Kingdom Fungi
sess_LifeSci-4ab.docx