Video Transcript
Which of the following correctly
compares Linnaeus’s and Whittaker’s systems of classification? (A) Whittaker had more biological
and technological knowledge when creating his system of classification. Or (B) Linnaeus had more biological
and technological knowledge when creating his system of classification.
First, let’s remind ourselves of
the systems of classification proposed by Linnaeus and Whittaker. Carl Linnaeus was a Swedish
botanist who devised a system of classification where all living organisms were
divided into two kingdoms. These were the animal kingdom and
the plant kingdom. He is also credited with developing
the system of taxonomic hierarchy, which we still use today. This involves dividing organisms
into a series of increasingly specific groups, which are known as taxonomic
ranks.
The final two ranks, known as genus
and species, provide what’s called the binomial name for every organism on planet
Earth. For example, Homo sapiens is
the binomial name for human beings. Homo is the genus and sapiens is
the species. Robert Whittaker, an American plant
ecologist, proposed a system of five kingdoms. These were the animal kingdom, the
plant kingdom, the fungi kingdom, the protist kingdom, and the Monera kingdom.
To determine which of these two
scientists had more biological and technological knowledge, we need to look at when
their systems were proposed. Linnaeus published his system of
classification, known as Systema Naturae, in 1735, whereas Whittaker’s system of
five kingdoms was developed over 230 years later in 1969. During the intervening years,
considerable advances in microscope technology meant that many more microscopic
organisms were discovered and previously unknown differences between organisms at a
cellular level could be observed. It was these advancements that
enabled Whittaker to expand Linnaeus’s concept of kingdoms and establish his own
system.
We have therefore determined that
the correct answer is (A). Whittaker had more biological and
technological knowledge than Linnaeus when creating his system of
classification.
