The science of naming and classifying living things into groups is called taxonomy. Scientists classify living things to organize and make sense of the incredible diversity of life. Classification also helps us understand how living things are related to each other.

Evolution and diversity result from the interactions between organisms and their environments and the consequences of these interactions over long periods of time. Organisms continually adapt to their environments, and the diversity of environments that exists promotes a diversity of organisms adapted to them.

Taxonomy is the study of relationships between living things and the formal classification of organisms into groups based upon those hypothesized relationships. Organisms are classified based upon their similarities and differences.

It is easier for biologists to communicate and keep information about organisms when the organisms are organized into groups. One tool biologists use to organize organisms is classification. Classification is the grouping of objects or organisms based on a set of conditions.

Typical levels of organization that one finds in the literature include the atomic, molecular, cellular, tissue, organ, organismal, group, population, community, ecosystem, landscape, and biosphere levels.

Division of organisms into named hierarchical groups ("classification"), known as taxa (singular: taxon). Examples include (in order of increasing specificity): kingdom, phylum (also known as "division" in plants), class, order, family, genus, and species.