Q.What is binomial nomenclature?
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Imagine trying to talk about one particular plant with someone in another country when each of you knows it only by a different local name — names that change from place to place even within a single country. The conversation quickly becomes confused, because the same organism is being called many different things. Binomial nomenclature is the elegant solution to exactly this problem: it gives every organism one standard scientific name that means the same thing everywhere in the world.
Binomial nomenclature is a system in which every scientific name is made of two parts — the generic name (the genus) and the specific epithet (the species). This two-word system was devised by Carolus Linnaeus and is used by biologists everywhere because it is so convenient. For example, the scientific name of the mango is written as Mangifera indica, where Mangifera is the genus and indica is the specific epithet.
The naming follows a set of universally agreed rules:
- Biological names are generally in Latin and written in italics; whatever their original language, they are treated as Latinised.
- The first word denotes the genus; the second word denotes the specific epithet.
- When handwritten, the two words are underlined separately; in print they appear in italics, showing their Latin origin.
- The genus name begins with a capital letter, while the specific epithet begins with a small letter — as in Mangifera indica.
- The author's name, in abbreviated form, is added at the very end, for instance Mangifera indica Linn., indicating that Linnaeus was the first to describe the species. …
Binomial nomenclature is the two-name naming system for species, giving each organism a scientific name made of a Genus name and a species epithet. …
Binomial nomenclature gives every species a universal two-part Latinized scientific name (Genus + species).
Carolus Linnaeus introduced the binomial system of nomenclature in the 18th century to give every known organism one universally accepted scientific name, avoiding the confusion of many different local/common names for the same species.
Rules of binomial nomenclature:
- The name has two components — the generic name (Genus) and the specific epithet (species).
- Both words are usually printed in italics (or underlined separately when handwritten).
- The first word (Genus) starts with a capital letter; the second word (species) starts with a lowercase letter.
- The name is generally derived from Latin, or Latinized, regardless of its origin. …
Showing the 12 most recent of 18 on this concept.
- CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.The first word in a biological name is related to -(a) Genus name(b) Specific epithet(c) Discoverer's name(d) Both(a) and (b)
›Reveal solutionSolution
A binomial scientific name has two parts — the genus name always comes first, followed by the specific epithet.
Carl Linnaeus's binomial system of nomenclature, universally followed today, gives every species a two-word Latinized name:
- The first word is the generic name (genus), e.g. Mangifera in Mangifera indica (mango). It is always written with its first letter capitalized.
- The second word is the specific epithet, e.g. indica, and is always written in lower case. …
- CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL1 markQ.Write True/False: The scientific name of Potato is Solanum Melongena.
›Reveal solutionSolution
This statement is False — potato's correct scientific name is Solanum tuberosum; Solanum melongena is the name of a different plant, Brinjal (eggplant).
According to the binomial nomenclature system (as covered in taxonomy), each species has a unique two-part Latin name consisting of the genus and the specific epithet. Potato belongs to genus Solanum, and its correct species name is tuberosum, giving Solanum tuberosum. Solanum melongena is a different species within the same genus Solanum — it is the scientific name for Brinjal (eggplant), not potato. Both plants belong to the same f …
- CBSE 2026Set ANNUAL1 markQ.Answer in one word/sentence: Write the scientific name of humans.
›Reveal solutionSolution
The scientific (binomial) name of the human species is Homo sapiens.
Under the system of binomial nomenclature, every species is given a two-part Latinised name: the first part is the genus name (capitalised) and the second is the specific epithet (lower case), both conventionally italicised or underlined when handwritten. For modern humans, the genus is Homo …
- CBSE 2024Set ANN1 markQ.The system of providing scientific name with two components is called __________.
›Reveal solutionSolution
The two-word (genus + species) naming system devised by Carolus Linnaeus is called binomial nomenclature.
Every known species is given a unique scientific name made up of two components — the genus name followed by the specific epithet. This universal system was proposed by Carolus Linnaeus and is followed internationally under the ICZN (for animals) and ICBN (for plants).
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- CBSE 2024Set HALF_YEARLY1 markQ.Fill in the blank: Scientific name of wheat is __________.
›Reveal solutionSolution
Wheat's binomial scientific name is Triticum aestivum, following the rules of binomial nomenclature.
Carl Linnaeus's system of binomial nomenclature gives every species a two-word Latinised name: the first word is the genus (capitalised) and the second is the specific epithet (lower-case), and both are printed in italics (or underlined in handwriting). Wheat, the widely cultivated cereal crop of th …
- CBSE 2023Set botany1 markMCQQ.Carolus Linnaeus devised a nomenclature system known as:(a) Monomial(b) Binomial(c) Trinomial(d) Polynomial
›Reveal solutionSolution
Carolus Linnaeus devised binomial nomenclature — a universal two-part naming system for species — making option (b) correct.
Carolus Linnaeus, the 'father of taxonomy', introduced the practice of naming every species with two words: the first denoting the genus and the second the specific epithet, together forming the scientific name of the organism (e.g., Homo sapiens for humans, Mangifera indica for mango). This system is called binomial nomenclature. It brought uniformity to naming across the scientific world and is still followed today, governed by codes such as the ICBN (for plants) and ICZN (for animals).
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- CBSE 2023Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.Who proposed the binomial nomenclature?(a) Linnaeus(b) Pliny(c) Bentham and Hooker(d) Aristotle
›Reveal solutionSolution
Linnaeus gave binomial nomenclature.
Carolus (Carl) Linnaeus introduced the system of binomial nomenclature in which each organism is given a two-part scientific name (genus + species). Bentham and Hooker gave a classification system, while Pliny and Aristotl …
- CBSE 2022Set TERM11 markMCQQ.Biological name of mango is(a) Mangifera indica(b) Homo sapiens(c) Panthera leo(d) Musca domestica
›Reveal solutionSolution
Mango's scientific name, written per binomial nomenclature rules, is Mangifera indica.
Biological/scientific nomenclature follows the binomial system introduced by Carolus Linnaeus and standardised by international codes (ICBN for plants, ICZN for animals): every name has two parts -- the Genus name (capitalised) followed by the specific epithet (lowercase), both italicised or underlined when handwritten (e.g., Mangifera indica). Checking the options: Homo sapiens is the scientific …
- CBSE 2022Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.The binomial of Onion is:(a) Allium cepa(b) Allium sativum(c) Daucus carota(d) Raphanus sativus
›Reveal solutionSolution
Onion's binomial name is Allium cepa, following the two-word (genus + species) naming system of binomial nomenclature.
Binomial nomenclature, given by Carl Linnaeus, assigns every organism a two-part scientific name: the first word is the genus (always capitalised) and the second is the specific epithet (written in lowercase), both usually italicised or underlined. Onion belongs to the genus Allium and its specific epithet is cepa, giving Allium cepa.
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- CBSE 2022Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.Species Plantarum was written by(a) John Ray(b) Darwin(c) Linnaeus(d) Huxley
›Reveal solutionSolution
'Species Plantarum' (1753) was written by Carolus Linnaeus → (c).
- Carolus Linnaeus published Species Plantarum, which established the binomial system of nomenclature for plants. …
- CBSE 2020Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.Biological name of mango is :(a) Mangifera indica(b) Homo sapiens(c) Panthera Ico(d) Musca demestica
›Reveal solutionSolution
Mango's scientific (binomial) name is Mangifera indica.
Under the binomial nomenclature system (Linnaeus), every species gets a two-part Latin name: Genus + specific epithet, both italicised, genus capitalised.
- (a) Mangifera indica -- genus Mangifera, species indica: this is mango.
- (b) Homo sapiens -- modern human, not mango. …
- CBSE 2020Set ANNUAL1 markMCQQ.Biological name of Lion is :(a) Homo sapiens(b) Panthera leo(c) Mangifera indica(d) None of these
›Reveal solutionSolution
The lion's scientific name is Panthera leo (genus Panthera, species leo).
Following binomial nomenclature, Panthera leo names the lion; Panthera is the genus shared with other big cats (tiger Panthera tigris, leopard Panthera pardus), and leo is the specific epithet unique to the lion.
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