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A group of closely related organisms capable of interbreeding to produce fertile offspring are known as members of a…

A. kingdom

B. class

C. family

D. species

QUICK ANSWER…

D

DETAILS…  

There is a general formula for classification of organisms according to what is called taxonomic ranks, it is stated as K>P>C>O>F>G>S.

Where K=kingdom, P=phylum, C=class, O=order, F=family, G=genus, and S=species

This entails that kingdom is of the highest rank followed by phylum, before class… and species being the least.

Now for the right answer to the above question:

1. Kingdom is the highest rank to which many organisms of widely divergent characteristics belong, for instance goat and ant all belong to same kingdom called animals. For organisms to interbreed, their taxonomic differences must be narrowed to the least possible, therefore, A is not the answer.
2. Organisms can be of the same class and also fail to effectively interbreed. So, B is ruled out.
3. Family is close, but not close enough to interbreed effectively. So, C is not the right answer.
4. Organisms of same species are very closely related enough to effectively reproduce similar offspring. So, D is the right answer.

QUICK TIPS…

• You may device a means to commit this formula to memory, as you may be required to apply same to classify organisms in future exams and interviews.

/ culled from 2018 JAMB/UTME biology question 1/