Classification hierarchy (Edexcel A level Biology B)

This lesson describes the classification system that consist of a hierarchy of domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species. The engaging PowerPoint and accompanying resource have been designed to cover point 3.1 (i) of the Edexcel A-level Biology B specification and also includes details of the use of the binomial naming system.

The lesson begins by looking at the meaning of a population in Biology so that the term species can be introduced. A hinny, which is the hybrid offspring of a male horse and a female donkey, is used to explain how these two organisms must be members of different species because they are unable to produce fertile offspring. Moving forwards, students will learn that species is the lowest taxon in the modern-day classification hierarchy. A quiz runs throughout the lesson and this particular round will engage the students whilst they learn the names of the other 7 taxa and the horse and the donkey from the earlier example are used to complete the hierarchy. Students will understand that the binomial naming system was introduced by Carl Linnaeus to provide a universal name for each species and they will be challenged to apply their knowledge by completing a hierarchy for a modern-day human, by spotting the correct name for an unfamiliar organism and finally by suggesting advantages of this system.