Classifying means sorting, or organising into groups. You are going to classify living things into two groups - plants and animals. You will examine the characteristics that scientists use to separate plants from animals. That is, you will learn about what makes a plant different from an animal.
Why classify? A study of living things allows you to better understand yourself and how you fit into your environment. To make this understanding possible, it helps if we sort out, or classify, living things into groups.
Classifying all the living things is a bit like when you get dressed in the morning - it's much quicker if all the things you wear are already sorted into groups. Your socks, undies, shirts, jeans and shoes are grouped together so you can find them easily, rather than all being in one big box.
Imagine how long it would take you to get dressed in the morning if all your clothes were in one big pile? You'd probably feel just like Laura does, in the following drawing.
Scientists would feel pretty confused when they tried to study living things if they were in just one big group.
Classifying in our daily lives
Classification systems are not only used in science but in everybody's daily life as well. The following diagram is another example of how things are classified in the home.
Classifying in the kitchen
This makes it a lot easier to find the things you are looking for and to communicate with other people in your family.
Are there any other reasons to classify?
There are also other reasons for classifying things.
Classifying makes it easier to communicate. For example, when you say 'knife' you mean a tool for cutting, with a handle and a long, sharp metal blade. It is easier to say knife than go into a long description of the object.
This is the same in biology. When you say that a cat is a 'mammal' you mean that the animal is covered with fur, is warm-blooded and suckles its young on milk. Once again, one word has saved a lengthy explanation.
Classifying also makes it easier to identify or name unfamiliar objects. You have just read about the three benefits of classifying objects.
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