1.1 Organization of Living Things

The Kingdoms

The Kingdoms are comprised of six different categories that include the following:

Archaebacteria: This Kingdom is one of the two Kingdoms that include bacteria. These are organisms that are all prokaryotic, unicellular and live in extreme environments such as hot springs.
Eubacteria: This is the second Kingdom that includes bacteria. These organisms are also all prokaryotic and unicellular.
Protists: These are eukaryotic and mostly unicellular organisms. They are often found in water environments. This is the most numerous & diverse kingdom.
Fungi: These organisms are all eukaryotic and multicellular with one exception, yeast. Unlike the plant Kingdom, these organisms are not photosynthetic.
Plants: This group is eukaryotic, multicellular and photosynthetic.
Animals: This is where we will spend much of our time studying. These organisms are eukaryotic and multicellular. Another important characteristic that helps us differentiate them from plants is that they are capable of locomotion (movement).

Self Assessment Quiz

    1. Which of the following is an exception to the fungi kingdom because it is unicellular?

  • Mushrooms
  • Bacteria
  • Yeast
  • Ameoba

    2. Which of the following describes how eubacteria are classified?

  • Eukaryotic, multicellular
  • Eukaryotic, unicellular
  • Prokaryotic, multicellular
  • Prokaryotic, unicellular

    3. What is the general term for the Kingdoms – eubacteria and archeabacteria?

  • Fungi
  • Plants
  • Bacteria
  • Protista