Post on 10-Dec-2021
Biology
Kingdoms
The life around us is incredibly diverse. To help make sense of how all the different species relate to each other, scientists group them into six broad kingdoms.
This is a print version of an interactive online lesson. To sign up for the real thing or for curriculum
details about the lesson go to
www.cosmoslessons.com
Introduction: Kingdoms
Ferns are among the most ancient members of the plant kingdom. They were here before the dinosaurs. So it’s
amazing that it's taken us until now to make a new key discovery about how they live.
All plants need sunlight because they use its energy to make their own food through photosynthesis. But ferns live in the
shadows, usually on the forest �oor, where tall trees block out the Sun’s rays. So how do they survive with so little sunlight?
Scientists have just discovered their mysterious secret.
Sunlight is made up of many colours. Most plants can only capture blue light for photosynthesis. But blue light is blocked by
the forest canopy and the light that makes it through is mostly red. To compensate, ferns have a special protein that allows
them to absorb red light and use it for photosynthesis. They can then live happily in the shadows.
But there's more to the story of how ferns adapted to life on the forest �oor.
They can use the red light that other plants ignore because they have a gene that produces the special red-sensitive
protein. Usually animals and plants inherit genes from their parents but the ferns got theirs from another member of the
plant kingdom altogether – a sort of moss called a hornwort.
But there's still a mystery for the scientists to work out. No one is sure exactly how the gene moved from hornworts to
ferns. But for ferns, it sure was a lucky gift.
Read the full Cosmos Magazine article here.
Ferns acquired a gene from another species via a natural process, but genetic engineering allows us to do the same
thing arti�cially. Scientists took a gene from certain naturally glowing jelly�sh (left) to create GloFish (right). Although
originally designed to help them study pollution, the �sh are now marketed as the �rst genetically altered house pets.
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Question 1
Imagine: You discover a way to acquire a gene from another species. If you had to choose one characteristic to acquire
from another species, what characteristic would you choose and why?
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Gather: Kingdoms
Credit: Six Kingdoms of Classi�cation by Mark Drollinger (YouTube).
0:00 / 2:28
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Question 1
Notes: Use this space to take notes for the video.
Note: This is not a question and is optional, but we recommend taking notes – they will help you remember the main points of the
video and also help if you need to come back to answer a question or review the lesson.
Question 2
Recall: All living organisms can be grouped into kingdoms.
How many kingdoms are there?
2
3
4
6
I'm not sure
Question 3
De�ne: A eukaryotic cell is one that:
lacks a nucleus
has a nucleus
I'm not sure
Question 4
Compare: Photosynthesis is a process that uses the
energy in sunlight to create food. Which of the following
carry out photosynthesis?
Plants
Fungi
Animals
I'm not sure
Question 5
Recall: What is the scienti�c term used to describe
organisms that make food through photosynthesis?
Multitrophs
Autotrophs
Phototrophs
Heterotrophs
I'm not sure
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Question 6
Classify: Complete the following table below by adding the missing information.
Organism KingdomUnicellular or
multicellular?
How it obtains energy
or food
Prokaryotic or
eukaryotic?
Bear Eats other organisms
Plants Eukaryotic
Mushroom Multicellular Eukaryotic
SalmonellaAbsorbs nutrients from
its surroundingsProkaryotic
Amoeba Protists UnicellularAbsorbs nutrients from
its surroundings Eukaryotic
Halobacteriales Archaea UnicellularAbsorbs nutrients from
its surroundings
Question 7
Describe: The Cosmos Magazine article reveals that ferns acquired a gene from a moss. Examine the above images and
identify the features that place ferns and mosses in the plant kingdom.
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Question 8
Place: Add the appropriate kingdom into each of the empty boxes below.
Living organism
unicellular
no nucleus
nucleus
obtains energy
by...
eating food
absorbing sun-
light
decomposing
detritus
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Process: Kingdoms
Question 1
Calculate: One of the de�ning characteristics of ferns is their beautiful unfurling fronds. Frond blades are made up of
pinnae (smaller segments of the blade) and each pinna is made up pinnules (the little leaves).
If a fern has 6 fronds, with each frond having 12 pinnae and each pinna having 32 pinnules, how many pinnules does the
fern have in total?
Credit: The Private Life of Plants –
Fungi by BBC/Globalzoo (YouTube).
0:00 / 5:02
Credit: Ferns by NWdocumentary (YouTube).
0:00 / 1:28
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Question 2
Notes: Use this space to take notes for the video.
Note: This is not a question and is optional.
Question 3
Distinguish: Having watched the two videos, describe the distinguishing features between fungi and ferns.
Question 4
Think: Which of the following do ferns and fungi have in
common?
Need for water
Need for sunlight
Need for carbon dioxide
I'm not sure
Question 5
Sequence: The nutrients from a rotting tree can be reused
by:
First fungi and then ferns
First ferns and then fungi
The order is irrelevant
I'm not sure
Question 7
Explain: If you had di�culty deciding on your response to the previous question then you would have found yourself in
Question 6
Compare: Scientists used to classify all organisms as either plants or animals. In which of these two kingdoms do you think
bacteria were placed? Explain your answer.
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Activity: Kingdoms
Kingdom cards
CLL_Kingdom_printable.pdf
Question 1
It took the discovery and careful examination of hundreds of organisms before scientists were able to settle on the six
kingdoms we know today. Now it's time for you to forget about the kingdoms you've learnt about in this lesson and
propose your own kingdoms!
Examine the Cosmos printable cards provided above, either on your screen or after printing them and cutting them out.
Using the information and images provided on the cards, group the organisms into three new kingdoms. Make sure to name
each of your kingdoms and explain your groupings.
Once you've �nished, add your own organism onto the blank card. This can either be an existing organism or one that you
make up. Which of your kingdoms does the organism belong to? Swap cards with a neighbour and identify which of your
kingdoms their organism belongs to.
Hint: You might �nd the table or mind map tools useful for grouping your organisms.
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Career: Kingdoms
Kevin Rowe is a molecular biologist on a mission to discover new species. Each time he succeeds in �nding one, he has
to classify it to work out how it relates to the species we already know.
Growing up in sunny Southern California, Kevin didn’t
know if he wanted to be a poet, a biologist or an engineer.
In high school and university, he studied everything from
anthropology to biology but one thing remained constant –
his great love for nature and the wilderness.
This passion led Kevin to pursue a career in biology, and in
2001 he joined the Melbourne Museum in Australia. The
museum is home to hundreds of carefully preserved
animals, some of which are more than 100 years old. Even
so, Kevin is determined to discover new animals to further
expand the museum’s collection.
There isn’t a typical work day for Kevin. There are the quiet
days he spends working in the lab, analysing DNA from the
museum's specimens to understand how these animals
evolved to cope with changing conditions over time. And
then there are the days he spends slogging through the
hot, humid rainforests of Indonesia in search of new
species.
Although we've managed to identify around 1.2 million
species of living things, there are still six times that many
species out there yet to be discovered, says Kevin. And he
loves �nding new species. Kevin has discovered rats in the
Indonesian rainforest that no one previously knew existed.
In his spare time, Kevin enjoys outdoor activities, including
hiking, gardening, and swimming.
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Question 1
Propose: If you had the opportunity to suggest a location anywhere in the world where Kevin could �nd new species,
where would it be and why?
Image credits
Introduction: Anna Utkina/Getty Images and GloFish/Getty
Images; Career: Museum Victoria.
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Test: Kingdoms
Note: There may be more than one correct answer to the multiple-choice questions below.
Question 1 (1 mark)
Which of the following is a complete list of the kingdoms?
Plants, animals, bacteria
Plants, animals, bacteria, �sh, mammals,
amphibians
Plants, animals, fungi, protists, archaea
Plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, protists,
archaea
I'm not sure
Question 2 (1 mark)
Scientists used to classify living things into only two
kingdoms. What were they?
Animals and humans
Animals and plants
Vertebrates and invertebrates
Autotrophs and heterotrophs
I'm not sure
Question 3 (1 mark)
Plants use the Sun's energy to produce their own food by
photosynthesis. For this reason they are classi�ed as:
prokaryotic
eukaryotic
autotrophs
heterotrophs
I'm not sure
Question 4 (1 mark)
Which of the following obtain the energy they need by
eating other living things?
Salmon
Elephants
Pine trees
Salmonella bacteria
Spiders
I'm not sure
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Question 5 (1 mark)
All unicellular organisms have one nucleus.
True
False
I'm not sure
Question 6 (1 mark)
A cell that lacks a nucleus is described as:
heterotrophic
photosynthetic
eukaryotic
prokaryotic
I'm not sure
Question 7 (1 mark)
Which of the following are multicellular?
Plants
Fungi
Archaea
Bacteria
Animals
Protists
I'm not sure
Question 8 (1 mark)
Which of the following have cells that lack a nucleus?
Plants
Archaea
Bacteria
Animals
I'm not sure
Question 9 (1 mark)
Ferns are classi�ed as plants because they are:
multicellular, eukaryotic autotrophs
multicellular, eukaryotic decomposers
unicellular, prokaryotic autotrophs
multicellular, eukaryotic heterotrophs
I'm not sure
Question 10 (1 mark)
Dogs are classi�ed as animals because they are:
multicellular, eukaryotic autotrophs
multicellular, eukaryotic decomposers
unicellular, prokaryotic autotrophs
multicellular, eukaryotic heterotrophs
I'm not sure
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Question 11 (1 mark)
Which features do ferns and fungi have in common?
Have leaves
Need moisture
Produce spores to reproduce
Have roots
None, because they belong to di�erent
kingdoms
I'm not sure
Question 12 (1 mark)
As an experiment, a fern and a fungus are supplied with
moist soil and nutrients, and placed in a completely dark
room. Which one is likely to survive the longest in these
conditions?
The fungus
The fern
It depends on their usual life span because
they both have everything they need
I'm not sure
Question 13 (1 mark)
The image on the left shows a fungus growing among dead
leaves on a forest �oor. What is the role of the thin white
threads?
They produce food using sunlight via
photosynthesis
They release spores that allow the fungus to
reproduce
They absorb nutrients from the soil, just like
the roots of plants
They release a strong acid to break down the
dead leaves and then absorb the nutrients
I'm not sure
Question 14 (1 mark)
How do fungi bene�t the entire forest in which they live?
By eating other animals that would otherwise multiply out of control
By decomposing dead plant matter and returning the nutrients to the soil
By converting the energy in sunlight into food that can be eaten by animals
I'm not sure
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Total available marks: 17
Question 15 (1 mark)
Learning goal 1: The six kingdoms of living things can be distinguished by answering three questions:
How many cells is each organism made up of?
Do the cells have a nucleus?
How does the organism obtain energy?
Choose one of these features and explain how it divides up the kingdoms into groups.
Question 16 (1 mark)
Learning goal 2: Streptococcus is a type of bacteria. An oryx is a type of animal. Describe the similarities and di�erences
between these two living things, based only on this information and your understanding of the kingdoms.
Question 17 (1 mark)
Learning goal 3: Describe two important di�erences between ferns and fungi.
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