Classification

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 662.

Task 1

Introduction

Unit 2 Class relationships (1) Classification

People try to organize the world around them. One of the ways they do this is by looking for relationships among objects or ideas, and classifying them into groups according to their similarities and differences.

The following is a set of English words given in no particular order (i.e. a list). Turn this list into a classification by ordering the words into groups. Be prepared to explain why you grouped them as you did:

You may have noticed that these data can be classified in several ways. The way you classify depends on what characteristics you think are important. In biology particular characteristics, such as the possession of bones, are used to define groups. Thus, for instance, animals with bones are generally classified as vertebrates. However, if we decided on some other characteristic (e.g. the possession of eyes) we should define a completely different group that included most (but not all) vertebrates, most insects, most crustaceans, some molluscs and some other invertebrates. A common way of classifying data is through a tree diagram.

Classification means the arranging or ordering of material. We use the principles of classification every day, for example, when we look up classi­fied ads in the newspaper or use the yellow pages in the telephone book. The other name for the yellow pages is, in fact, the classified telephone direc­tory. The items in the yellow pages are first classified alphabetically, but there are also classifications within some of the alphabetical listings. If you looked up churches under C in the yellow pages of a large city directory, for example, you would see that they are classified by denomination. Under each domination, particular churches are listed. If you continued reading, you would probably see that churches are also classified by where they are located in the city.

A common form of classification is the organizational flow chart, which uses a diagram to show the particular functions within an organization.