Concept and uses of classification systems

1 State that organisms can be classified into groups by the features that they share

5 Explain that classification systems aim to reflect evolutionary relationships

2 Describe a species as a group of organisms that can reproduce to produce fertile offspring

6 Explain that the sequences of bases in DNA are used as a means of classification

3 Describe the binomial system of naming species as an internationally agreed system in which the scientific name of an organism is made up of two parts showing the genus and species

7 Explain that groups of organisms which share a more recent ancestor (are more closely related) have base sequences in DNA that are more similar than those that share only a distant ancestor