Patterns in Life: Diversity and Classification: common misconceptions

If your child says… “The same colour means the same group.”

Ask together

What features besides colour could you compare?

What’s true

Unrelated organisms can look alike, so colour alone can mislead.

If your child says… “Species is the biggest group.”

Ask together

Which surrounds the other in this diagram: kingdom or species?

What’s true

Species is the narrowest rank in this sequence.

If your child says… “Both words need capitals.”

Ask together

Which word names the genus?

What’s true

Only the genus begins with a capital letter.

If your child says… “Bacteria have a proper nucleus too.”

Ask together

Does the bacterium's genetic material have a nuclear boundary around it?

What’s true

Bacteria belong to Monera and lack membrane-bound nuclei.

If your child says… “Fungi are plants that make food.”

Ask together

How would a fungus without chlorophyll get its nutrients?

What’s true

Fungi lack chlorophyll and absorb nutrients from living or dead matter.

If your child says… “Fossils record everything that ever lived.”

Ask together

Would a missing trace prove that an organism never existed?

What’s true

Many organisms leave no fossils, and some rocks containing fossils are destroyed.

If your child says… “An animal chooses the changes it needs.”

Ask together

Did any beetle change colour, or did brown beetles leave more offspring?

What’s true

Individuals cannot choose inherited adaptations when their surroundings change.

If your child says… “Losing one species changes nothing else.”

Ask together

What do these flowers provide for the visiting insects?

What’s true

Losing flowering plants can also affect the insects that feed on them.