Name ___________________________ Date: ___________________ Course: Science/Ms. Lopez Homeroom:

Aims: SWBAT classify organisms using a dichotomous key. Essential Question: How do dichotomous keys help scientists name newly discovered species?  

Do  Now  

Directions: Look at the diagram below to find out which teacher you are most like.

   

1) According  to  the  Dichotomous  Key  above,  what  teacher  are  you  most  like?    ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________    

Do  you  love  to  be  super  organized?    

Yes  

Do  you  like  to  swim?  

Yes  

Have  you  ever  lived  in  a  different  country?    

Yes  

Ms.  Brown  

No  

Ms.  Beasley  

No  

Have  you  read  the  entire  Twilight  

series?    

Yes  

Mr.  Hawkins  

No  

Ms.  Eley  

No  

Do  you  like  to  run?  

Yes  

Have  you  ever  been  on  a  middle  school  sports  team?  

Yes  

Ms.  Roddey  

No  

Ms.  De  Vries  

No  

Do  you  know  the  words  to"Cha  Cha  

Slide"?  

Yes  

Mr.  Siegel  

No  

Ms.  Maqsood  

57a  

Mini  Lesson:  Using  a  Dichotomous  Key      

A  _____________________________________________    key  is  a  tool  that  allows  the  user  to  determine  the  identity  of  items  in  the  natural  world,  such  as  trees,  wildflowers,  mammals,  reptiles,  butterflies,  etc.  Keys  consist  of  a  series  of  choices  that  lead  the  user  to  the  correct  name  of  a  given  item.  “Dichotomous”  means  “divided  into  two  parts”.  Therefore,  dichotomous  keys  always  give  _______________  choices  in  each  step.    Here  is  an  example  of  a  dichotomous  key.  Suppose  you  have  four  insects  (ladybug,  housefly,  dragonfly,  and  a  grasshopper).  After  studying  the  insects,  you  might  use  wing  covering  ,  body  shape,  and  where  the  wings  point  towards  as  the  characteristics  you  wish  to  base  your  key  upon.  To  begin  the  key,  you  could  start  separating  the  four  insects  based  on  wind  covering:  “wings  covered  by  exoskeleton”  versus  “wings  not  covered  by  exoskeleton”.  At  the  end  of  each  statement  you  must  direct  the  reader  to  the  next  appropriate  question.                                                          

1.a.  wings  covered  by  an  exoskeleton…………..go  to  step  2        b.  wings  not  covered  by  an  exoskeleton………go  to  step  3.  

   Next,  you  will  use  a  pair  of  statements  to  separate  each  of  the  groups  isolated  by  the  above  statements.  If  you  isolate  a  subject  you  will  give  the  name  of  the  subject.    

2.a.  Body  has  a  round  shape……………………ladybug        b.  Body  has  an  elongated  shape………………grasshopper  3.a.wings  point  out  from  the  side  of  the  body…..dragonfly        b.  wings  point  to  the  posterior  of  the  body……housefly  

     

Hints  for  Using  Dichotomous  Keys    

1. _____________________  read  both  choices    

2. Be  sure  you  understand  the  meaning  of  terms  involved.  _______________________________________.      

3. If  the  choice  is  not  clear,  try  both  divisions.  If  you  end  up  with  two  possible  answers,  read  descriptions  of  the  two  choices  to  help  you  decide.  

 4. Having  arrived  at  an  answer  in  a  key,  do  not  accept  this  as  absolutely  reliable.  Check  a  

description  of  the  organism  to  see  if  it  agrees  with  the  unknown  specimen.  If  not,  an  error  has  been  made.  The  ultimate  check  is  with  an  authentically  named  “Type  Specimen”  (one  found  in  an  official  collection  like  a  natural  science  museum).  

   

 _______________________________        _____________________________          __________________________              _________________________  

Dichotomous Key    1. Has pointed ears .................................... go to 3  Has rounded ears ....................................go to 2  

2. Has no tail ............................................. Kentuckyus  Has tail .................................................. Dakotus  

3. Ears point upward .................................... go to 5  Ears point downward ..............go to 4  

4. Engages in waving behavior ............................. Dallus  Has hairy tufts on ears ..........................................Californius  

5. Engages in waving behavior ............................. WalaWala  Does not engage in waving behavior ....................go to 6  

6. Has hair on head ............................................. Beverlus  Has no hair on head (may have ear tufts) .......go to 7  

7. Has a tail ............................................. Yorkio  Has no tail, aggressive ............................ Rajus  

           1____________________            2____________________                      3_____________________          4____________________

     5______________________                         6______________________                        7___________________          8_______________________  

Dichotomous  Key  to  the  Animal  Kingdom!!    Directions:    Use  the  dichotomous  key  below  to  name  each  of  the  animals  in  this  crazy,  mixed  up  animal  kingdom.    Follow  these  directions  to  learn  how  to  use  a  dichotomous  key.      

1.      Carefully  observe  the  characteristics  of  the  first  “animal”.      2.      Read  the  two  choices  in  step  #1  of  the  dichotomous  key.      3.      You  must  choose  the  correct  choice  for  the  animal  you  are  trying  to  classify.  4.      Once  you  have  made  your  choice,  follow  the  directions  to  move  to  the  next  appropriate  line  of  the  

key.  5.      Continue  to  make  the  correct  choices  for  each  animal  until  you  have  determined  the  name  of  the  

animal.    Dichotomous  Key  to  the  “Animal”  Kingdom    1.   a.      Has  wings  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  Go  to  line  2     b.      Does  not  have  wings  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .Go  to  line  3  

 2.   a.      Has  antennae  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .Go  to  line  4       b.      Does  not  have  antennae  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  Go  to  line  5    3.   a.      Has  a  tail  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  Go  to  line  6     b.      Does  not  have  a  tail  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .Go  to  line  7    4.   a.      Has  red  squares  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  Myrtle     b.      Has  red  spots  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  Mable  

 5.   a.      Has  a  red  tail  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .Alfonzo     b.      Has  a  blue  tail  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .Altonnio  

 6.   a.      Has  a  shell  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  Go  to  line  8     b.      Does  not  have  a  shell  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .Go  to  line  9  

 7.   a.      Has  four  legs  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .Go  to  line  10     b.      Has  more  than  four  legs  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .Go  to  line  11  

 8.   a.      Has  a  red  tail  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  Morganthau     b.      Has  a  blue  tail  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  Mabelene    9.   a.      Has  a  yellow  tail  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  Harry     b.      Has  a  green  tail  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  Hubert    10.   a.      Has  red  spots  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  Belinda     b.      Has  red  squares  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .Lucinda    11.   a.      Has  red  spots  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  Quincy     b.      Has  yellow  spots  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .Queenie          

   

                   1.      _______________________________    

                   2.      _______________________________    

                   3.      _______________________________    

                   4.      _______________________________    

                   5.      _______________________________    

                   6.      _______________________________    

                   7.      _______________________________    

                   8.      _______________________________    

                   9.      _______________________________    

                   10.      _______________________________    

                   11.      _______________________________    

                   12.      _______________________________    

BUTTON FAMILY DICHOTOMOUS KEY

1A   Thread shows when button is sewn on (flat button)---------------------------------------Go to 2  

1B   Thread does not show when button is sewn on (shank button)------------------------ Go to 7  

       2A   Button has 2 holes------------------------go to 3  2B    Button has 4 holes------------------------go to 5          3A   Button is oval---------------------------------Nerd Dawg  3B  Button is round---------------------------Go to 4          4A   Button has a circle design----------------- Mr. G  4B  Button has no design----------------------Super Harry          5A   Button is square, round corners------ Word Woman  5B    Button is round---------------------------Go to 6          6A   Button is large, white----------------------Indignant Dog  6B  Button is small, multicolored--------------Mr. POE          7A   Button is square----------------------------Mr. Evidence  7B  Button is round---------------------------Go to 8          8A   Button is textured------------------------Go to 9  8B  Button is smooth-------------------------------Mr. Right          9A   Button is metallic------------------------Evil Distractor Monster  9B  Button is covered with fabric----------No Way Jose!  

 

 

 

       

Button 1____________________________    Button 2_____________________________  

       

 

 

 

      Button 3____________________________    Button 4_____________________________  

       

 

   

      Button 5____________________________    Button 6_____________________________  

       

 

 

 

      Button 7____________________________    Button 8_____________________________  

       

 

 

 

      Button 9____________________________    Button 10____________________________  

 

Wacky  People  Key    

                                                               

3a One leg 6 3b Three or four legs 7

4a Fly-like Mosk Cara 4b Not fly-like 8

5a Seems to be a girl Rita Nita 5b Not a girl 9

6a Leg is curled , two feet Ru-ela.Brella 6b Leg is straight, one foot Giggles

7a Three legs 10 7b Four legs 11

8a Has webbed feet Hex Oculate 8b Clawed feet 12

9a Curly hair, no toes Lugio Wirum 9b Wiggly looking mouth, three toes on feet C. Nile

10a Very long nose, open mouth Elle E. Funk 10b Some other appearance 13

11a Has duck bill, two pinchers Tri D. Duckt 11b No arms or pinchers 14

12a Has ears, tail, and beak Grif Leon 12b Four eyes on stalks Eggur Ondy

13a One eye, webbed feet Cue Kide 13b Four stalked eyes, four pinchers Quadrumenox

14a Three toed feet, nose like a flower Tunia petalos 14b Spider-like, has spots Patterned mulywumpus

�

Wacky People Dichotomous Key Lab 2A

Instructions on how to use the key:

The purpose of using the key is to name the creature shown. Stick with one character until the name is reached, then go to the next.

x� A dichotomous key gives instructions in pairs of statements. x� With each character, start with the first pair of statements. x� Decide which description describes your chosen character best and follow the line to the right. x� There will either be a number or a name. If it is a number, go to the pair of steps with that

number, for example, if the number is 3, go to steps 3a and 3b. x� If the line ends in a name you have identified your character, so write it down by the creature. x� Continue until each creature has a name. There is only one creature per name, and no creature

has two names.

Wacky�People

Wacky People Key 1a Two feet 2 1b Some other number of feet 3

2a Does not look at all human 4 2b Looks a lot like a human 5

                                                   

Name: _____________________________________ Class: ____ Date: ______

7th Life Science Lab 2A

Wacky People Dichotomous Key Lab Answer Sheet

1

2

3

4

5 6

7 8 9

10 11 12

13 14 15

�

Dichotomous  Key  for  Triangle  Creatures  1.  A.  Sides  are  straight  lines      Go  to  2        B.  Sides  are  wavy  lines      Go  to  10                          2.  A.  Has  no  eyes      Go  to  3        B.  Has  eyes      Go  to  5                          3.  A.  Has  flagella  for  movement      Go  to  4        B.  Has  cilia  for  movement      Go  to  7                          4.  A.  The  three  sides  are  of  equal  length      Triangulum  equalius        B.  The  three  sides  are  not  of  equal  length      Go  to  12                          5.  A.  Has  crossed  eyes      Go  to  6        B.  Eyes  not  crossed      Go  to  9                          6.  A.  Has  a  single  flagellum  for  movement      Triangulum  monoflagelleum        B.  Has  two  or  more  flagella  for  movement      Triangulum  polyflagelleum                          7.  A.  Total  number  of  cilia  for  movement  are  odd      Triangulum  oddcilius        B.  Total  number  of  cilia  fo  rmovement  are  even      Go  to  8                          8.  A.  Has  a  pointed  nose      Triangulum  pointiatus        B.  Has  a  rounded  nose      Triangulum  roundiatus                          9.  A.  Has  two  cilia  on  each  side  for  movement      Triangulum  biciliatus        B.  Has  more  than  two  cilia  on  each  side      Triangulum  Polycilius                          10.  A.  Has  crossed-­‐eyes      Go  to  11        B.  Eyes  not  crossed      Triangulum  waveus  (samplest  correctus)                    11.  A.  Lower  half  of  the  body  has  a  dot  pattern      Triangulum  ventrodotteus        B.  Upper  half  of  the  body  has  a  dot  pattern      Triangulum  dorsalidotteus                          12.  A.  Has  a  pointed  nose      Triangulum  pointiflagelleum        B.  Has  a  rounded  nose      Triangulum  roundiflagelleum  

Answer  Key    #101  ________________________  _______________________________    #102    _______________________  _______________________________    #103      _______________________  _______________________________    #104    _______________________  _______________________________    #105  _______________________  _______________________________    #106  _______________________  _______________________________    #107  _______________________  _______________________________    #108    _______________________  _______________________________    #109    _______________________  _______________________________    #110    _______________________  _______________________________    #111    _______________________  _______________________________    #112    _______________________  _______________________________    #113    _______________________  _______________________________    

Name ___________________________ Date: ___________________

Dichotomous Key to Pamishan Creatures: 1. a. The creature has a large wide head..go to 2

b. The creature has a small narrow head...........go to 11

2. a. It has 3 eyes ...go to 3

b. It has 2 eyes ...go to 7

3. a. There is a star in the middle of its chest.....go to 4

b. There is no star in the middle of its chest ...go to 6

4. a. The creature has hair spikes ...Broadus hairus

b. The creature has no hair spikes...go to 5

5. a. The bottom of the creature is arch-shaped .....Broadus archus

b. The bottom of the creature is M-shaped ........Broadus emmus

6. a. The creature has an arch-shaped bottom ........Broadus plainus

b. The creature has an M-shaped bottom............Broadus tritops

7. a. The creature has hairy spikes ..go to 8

b. The creature has no spikes......go to 10

8. a. There is a star in the middle of its body .....Broadus hairystarus

b. The is no star in the middle of its body ......go to 9

9. a. The creature has an arch shaped bottom ........Broadus hairyemmus

b. The creature has an M shaped bottom ...........Broadus kiferus

10. a. The body is symmetrical ........Broadus walter

b. The body is not symmetrical.....Broadus anderson

11. a. The creature has no antennae ...go to 12

b. The creature has antennae ......go to 14

12. a. There are spikes on the face ...Narrowus wolfus

b. There are no spikes on the face ..go to 13

13. a. The creature has no spike anywhere ............Narrowus blankus

b. There are spikes on the right leg .............Narrowus starboardus

14. a. The creature has 2 eyes.........go to 15

b. The creature has 1 eye..........Narrowus cyclops

15. a. The creature has a mouth........go to 16

b. The creature has no mouth.......go to 17

16. a. There are spikes on the left leg .Narrowus portus

b. There are no spikes at all .....Narrowus plainus

17. a. The creature has spikes ........go to 18

b. The creature has no spikes .....Narrowus georginia

18. a. There are spikes on the head ...go to 19

b. There are spikes on the right leg….Narrowus montanian

19. a. There are spikes covering the face ......Narrowus beardus

b. There are spikes only on the outside edge of head ......Narrowus fuzzus

 

C   D   E   F   G  

H   I J   K L  

M   N   O   P   Q  

R   S   T   U  V  

57b  

Help! Scientists have discovered quite a few new creatures on planet Pamishan. They need your help to identify and classify them. Use the dichotomous key below to help scientist name each species!    

Name ___________________________ Date: ___________________ Course: Science/Ms. Lopez Homeroom:

Exit Slip – Dichotomous Keys

 CLASSIFY  THE  BEANS!  

 1a.   Bean  round   Garbanzo  bean    1b.   Bean  elliptical  or  oblong   Go  to  2                    

2a.   Bean  white   White  northern    2b.   Bean  has  dark  pigments   Go  to  3                    

3a.   Bean  evenly  pigmented   Go  to  4  3b.   Bean  pigmentation  mottled   Pinto  bean                      

4a.   Bean  black   Black  bean    4b.   Bean  reddish-­‐brown   Kidney  bean  

     

 A   B       C      

  E      

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

57c  

 _____________________________________   _______________________________________            ______________________________________  

_______________________________________                                              ______________________________________