Classification of Living Things
Taxonomy is the practice of classifying and naming living things into categories or groups based on similar characteristics. In 1758, biologist Carl Linnaeus created a system for classification that was used for hundreds of years. He gave each species two names (for example, Homo sapiens), showing their genus and species. He then grouped each genus into families, then orders, then classes, then phyla, and finally into two kingdoms: plants and animals. Linnaeus based kingdom classification on whether the organism moved or not. This system changed very little until the 1960's, when scientist R.H. Whittaker proposed a six Kingdom classification system where living things were grouped as plants, animals, fungi, protists, or monera (eubacteria and archeobacteria).
The table describes many of characteristics used to classify most organisms in the plant, animal, bacteria and protist kingdoms.
image 90ccb94ecd9f41fa9b1f62a93412a48e
Which statement explains the main characteristic that separates the bacteria kingdom from the other kingdoms shown?
A.
the presence of a nucleus surrounded by a membrane
B.
the number of cells in the organism
C.
the mechanism the organism uses to obtain energy
D.
the way the organism transfers genetic information to its offspring