Sunday, November 16, 2008

Explain simply what the Binomial System of Classification is

Binomial Nomenclature is the international system of giving each species of animal and plant its own, individual, two-part name. It originated with Carolus Linnaeus in the 18th century. The name consists of the genus and the species of the organism; in other words, the two most specific areas of grouping organisms. The names are usually derived from Latin or Greek. This is standardized world-wide so that species can be identified with certainty, and to help when a new organism is discovered. The characteristics that are common to those in the same Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus and Species can be used to see if a newly discovered organism is indeed new, or if it is a species that is already known.


When writing the scientific name of an organism, it is written as the genus, which is capitalized, and the species, which is not. It is also either italicized or underlined. For example, the scientific name of the common house mouse is Mus musculus. If a scientific study using mice is done in one area of the world, it can be repeated elsewhere using the correct species of mouse; this may not sound important, but when doing experiments it is important to keep all aspects the same except for the one being tested.

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