An old museum from the 1850s labels its exhibits as Plant or Animal: a mushroom (Plant), a moss…
Contributed by StemPy LabTry it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
An old museum from the 1850s labels its exhibits as Plant or Animal: a mushroom (Plant), a moss (Plant), Nostoc (Plant) and Amoeba (Animal). Which labels would change in Whittaker's five kingdoms, and to what? How many labels change?
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 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. The mushroom. No chlorophyll and a wall of chitin: Fungi, not Plantae.
Step 2. The moss. Many cells, chlorophyll, a wall of cellulose: it stays in Plantae.
Step 3. Nostoc. No true nucleus: Monera.
Step 4. Amoeba. A single eukaryotic cell: Protista.
Answer: labels change: the mushroom to Fungi, Nostoc to Monera and Amoeba to Protista.
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