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The comparison of taxonomy to a grocery store's departments is meant to show that taxonomy is:
AAn outdated method
BAn organising tool
CA biological law
DA random assignment
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. An organising tool
1. The analogy is chosen to set expectations about what classification does.
2. Taxonomy is a tool to organize the millions of organisms on Earth.
3. That is similar to how items in a grocery store or mall shop are organised into different departments.
4. Departments are a convenience imposed on the goods rather than a fact about them.
5. The evolutionary claims live in the phylogenetic tree rather than in the filing system.
_Source: OpenStax Biology for AP(R) Courses (CC BY 4.0), Ch 20 'Phylogenies and the History of Life', sections 20.1-20.3_
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