Simulation · Biology · Class 11
Writing a scientific name
"Writing a scientific name" is a free, interactive Class 11 Biology simulation for NEET, built on the lesson "Binomial nomenclature" in The Living World. The label below the twig is written wrongly. Tap a word on the label to switch its first letter between capital and small, and pick how it is written. Genus capitalised, epithet small, italics in print or separate underlines by hand. An abbreviated author may follow: Mangifera indica Linn. means Linnaeus described it first.
From the lesson Binomial nomenclature in The Living World. Change the values and watch what happens.
Writing a scientific nameBiology · Class 11
The idea behind it
NCERT §1.1
- Every scientific name has two parts: the generic name (the genus) and the specific epithet. Naming with two components is binomial nomenclature, introduced by Carolus Linnaeus and used by biologists all over the world.
- In Mangifera indica, the scientific name of mango, Mangifera is the genus and indica is the specific epithet.
- Scientific names are in Latin or are Latinised, whatever language the word first came from.
- Printed names appear in italics. When written by hand, the two words are underlined separately, not with one continuous line.
- The genus begins with a capital letter and the specific epithet begins with a small letter, as in Mangifera indica, never Mangifera Indica.
- The name of the author who first described the species may follow the epithet in an abbreviated form, for example Mangifera indica Linn., which shows that Linnaeus first described it.
- Other examples used in the chapter: Solanum tuberosum (potato), Panthera leo (lion) and Homo sapiens (human being).
Questions
2 answers
- What does the "Writing a scientific name" simulation show?
- The label below the twig is written wrongly. Tap a word on the label to switch its first letter between capital and small, and pick how it is written.
- Is this simulation free?
- Yes. It is free and runs in the browser on a phone or a laptop. It belongs to the lesson "Binomial nomenclature" in The Living World (Class 11 Biology).
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