Classification
Classification dates back to the 4th century B.C. with Aristotle and then mentioned again in the 18th century by Carolus Linnaeus with improvements. They both contributed to science in a major way, from just 2 specifications of life and subtitles within them. Have you ever wondered if there are more species than just plants and animals?
During the 4th century B.C., Aristotle came up with 2 groups, which were animals and plants. Then, he broke animals into groups according to how they moved, which were flying, swimming, and walking. There were two major problems with his theory. Some animals, like frogs, can swim and walk. What category would it fall under? Then, what about fungi, microorganisms, and others like that? Aristotle didn’t have the technology like the microscope to notice things like that. Therefore, they were unknown to him or not in existence. As time went by, scientists didn’t let that stop them and later developed things of that sort. It pushed science to a new and different level. It gave scientists like Carolus Linnaeus a better sight.
Carlous Linnaeus was a Swedish scientist and classified plants and animals according to similarities in form. Around the 18th century, he divided living things into one of two “kingdoms.” In the kingdoms you then have smaller groups called genera, but in there you have species. It lessened the broadness of the categories in Aristotle’s theory. Aristotle used 2 groups, while Carlous used a system of naming called bionominal nomenclature. All of his work is still used today, expect with a twist. We use a 5-kingdom system instead of a 2-kingdom system. Linnaeus also paved the way for others. For example, Hackel in 1866 with 3 kingdoms, Chatton in 1925 with 2 groups, Copland in 1938 with four kingdoms, and Whitaker in 1969 with 5 kindoms.
Without technology advancements, science wouldn’t be what it is today. We wouldn’t have any knowledge of Monera, Eukaryote or Bacteria. Thanks to all the scientists in the past, present, and future, science wouldn’t be what it is or what it is going to be. Although Aristotle’s theory may be invalid today, without his first thought, there wouldn’t be all the kingdoms or species to date. They set the pace and everyone else ran with it.
Loonii drawing a Polygon
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Classification is used and practiced in more then just English or Social Studies. It’s also used in mathematics. For example, in the organization of plane figures. One classification of plane figures is polygons. There are, any ways to classify polygons, but have you ever thought about the simple way?
There are three properties to consider when you think about a polygon. It must be a closed figure. Each side has to intersect exactly at two sides and must be formed by three or more line segments called sides. Polygons can be classified by being convex and concave. Convex is when a polygon has no point in the interior of the polygon. Concave is a polygon that is not convexed. This isn’t the only way you can classify polygons, you can also name them.
Polygons can be classified by the number of side as well. Fro example, a polygon with three sides named a triangle, or a four sided figure is a quadrilateral. The number of sides is just important as the number of angles because in the end, both of them are needed to make a close plan figure. That’s when equilateral, equiangular and regular come into play. Equilateral is when all sides of a polygon are congruent. When all the angles are congruent, it’s an equiangular, but what are regular polygons? Regular polygons are both equilateral and equiangular. That’s why the number of sides and angle are important.
Some polygons aren’t always considered regular, there are non-regular as well. Non-regular polygons aren’t congruent in sides or angles or in both. There is only one shape for a regular polygon, but not size. For example, if you draw a square that is equilateral and equiangular on one scale, you can scale up or down and it still be considered the same shape.
There were a variety of classifications of polygons that have been discussed convex and concave, the number of sides, regular and non-regular, and lateral and equiangular. Classification is all around you, if you take the time to classify.
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