Question

A taxonomic category refers to :
A. Concrete biological objects in a group.
B. A rank or level in a taxonomic hierarchy.
C. A group of related organisms able to interbreed.
D. A group of related organisms but unable to interbreed freely.

Answer 1

Hint: Taxonomic hierarchy means arranging various organisms into the successive levels of biological classification in either increasing or decreasing order, from kingdom to species and conversely.

Complete Answer:
There are 7 major categories, namely the kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species.
Kingdom - The kingdom is the highest level of classification, which is divided into subgroups at various levels. Living organisms are classified into 5 kingdoms.
(I) Phylum - the next level of classification. It is more specific than the kingdom.
(II) Class - the most general rank in the taxonomic hierarchy until phyla were not introduced.
(III) Order - a more specific rank than class. It constitutes one or more than one similar family.
(IV) Family - includes various genera, which share a few similarities.
(V) Genus - is a group of similar species.
(VI) Species - is the lowest level in the taxonomic hierarchy.
- Each category is a unit of rank or classification; and is commonly known as “taxon”.
- A taxon means a group of genetically related and similar individuals having certain characters different from other groups.
- The category is an abstract term that simply represents a rank or a level.

Option A: Concrete biological objects in a group does not mean taxonomic category. Therefore, this is the incorrect option.

Option B: A rank or level in a taxonomic hierarchy - is the Correct option.

Option C: A group of related organisms able to interbreed are known as species and not taxonomic hierarchy. Therefore, this is the incorrect option.

Option D: A group of related organisms but unable to interbreed freely is known as genus and not taxonomic hierarchy. Therefore, this is the incorrect option.

Thus, the correct option is B) Rank.

Note: Advantage of taxonomic hierarchy are,
- They help in establishing relationships between various organisms.
- It helps in studying the phylogeny and evolutionary history of organisms.