What is the science of identification, nomenclature, and classification of living organisms collectively called?

Correct answer: Taxonomy

Correct answer: A. Taxonomy is the branch of biology concerned with the identification, naming, and classification of organisms. Identification means determining what organism has been observed; nomenclature means assigning and applying a scientific name according to accepted rules; classification means arranging organisms into groups based on shared characters and relationships. These activities make biological diversity easier to study and communicate. Ecology, option B, studies interactions among organisms and their environment. Embryology, option C, studies development from the embryo. Genetics, option D, studies heredity and variation. They may provide information useful to taxonomy, but none of them collectively names these three taxonomic activities. In a broader modern sense, systematics may also examine evolutionary relationships, but the direct textbook answer to this wording is taxonomy. Memory cue: “Identify, name, classify—taxonomy.”