MediumBiologyHigh School (11–12)Diversity of Living Organisms › The Five KingdomsConceptualBoard ExamA-Level
Use the simplified key to the five kingdoms for these organisms: Agaricus, the button mushroom…
Contributed by StemPy LabTry it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
Use the simplified key to the five kingdoms for these organisms:
- Agaricus, the button mushroom (many-celled, not photosynthetic, a wall of chitin)
- Spirulina, a cyanobacterium (no true nucleus)
- Euglena (a single cell with a nucleus)
- a neem tree (many-celled, photosynthetic)
- an earthworm (many-celled, not photosynthetic, no cell wall)
Need a reminder? The key ideaShow
The two-kingdom system (Plantae and Animalia) did not separate prokaryotes from eukaryotes, single cells from many-celled bodies, or photosynthetic from non-photosynthetic organisms. R. H. Whittaker (1969) proposed five kingdoms: Monera, Protista, Fungi, Plantae and Animalia. He used the cell structure, the body organisation, the mode of nutrition, the reproduction and the evolutionary relationships. The simplified key asks, in order: a true nucleus? many cells? photosynthesis? a wall of chitin?
The worked solution
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. No nucleus. Spirulina: Monera.
Step 2. One cell with a nucleus. Euglena: Protista.
Step 3. Many cells, photosynthetic. The neem tree: Plantae.
Step 4. Many cells, not photosynthetic, chitin. Agaricus: Fungi.
Step 5. None of these. The earthworm: Animalia.
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