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Six animals at a zoo, sorted in more than one way.

This is Chapter 12. It is Patterns in Life: Diversity and Classification.

What you will learn

• Too many to list — sort living things by a feature you pick.
• A feature that splits cleanly — a clear yes or no.
• What decides a group — features passed from parents.
• Groups inside groups — kingdom down to species.
• Five large groups — three questions sort them into kingdoms.
• Two names for every kind — genus, then species.
• The things that do not fit — a virus has no cells.

Quick catch-up

These earlier lessons help. Open one first if a line here is unclear.

• Grouping — pick one feature, and sorting by it makes groups.
• A good question — sorts answers into a few piles.
• Two kinds of cell — a nucleus, in its own compartment, or loose.
• How big a cell can get — big bodies need small cells.
• Four kinds, not one word — bacteria, fungi, protozoa, viruses.
• What gets passed on — offspring resemble parents because instructions are copied.
• More than one sign — living things are checked on several signs together.

One rule before every bench

Every bench in this track is a simulation. No card names a real person.