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Year 7 Week 6-8 Dichotomous Key

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1K views7 pages

Year 7 Week 6-8 Dichotomous Key

Uploaded by

Dhruvi Soni
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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OSHWAL ACADEMY NAIROBI –


JUNIOR HIGH

BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT

YEAR 7 LESSON NOTES

TERM 2 2023-2024

Week 7-8

Dichotomous Key
Biologists often want to identify an organism that they have found.
They may be able to find a picture of the organism, with its name. But this does not always
work.

Biologists also use keys to help them to identify organisms. A key is a set of questions about
the organism you want to identify.

The answer to each question takes you to another question. You work through all of the
questions until you arrive at the name of the organism.

Note:

A dichotomous key is a model to sort and classify organisms.

The term just means ‘divided into two’ so that, at each stage of the key, you choose between
two routes.

How to use the Key


Choose one organism you want to identify.
Starting at the top of the key, answer the first question – yes or no?
Follow the line to the next question. Keep going until you arrive at the name of the organism
Consider the animals below and use the key described above to identify them.
Their identification is illustrated below.

The same Key can be set out differently.


Instead of a question, the key starts with a pair of statements to choose from.
Instead of arrows pointing to where you go next, there is a number
telling you which pair of statements to go to next.
Using the same list of animals, this is applied below.

1. a) It has legs. go to 2
b) It does not have legs. go to 3
2 a) It has exactly six legs. go to 4
b) It has more than six legs. crab
3 a) Its body is made up of rings. earthworm
b) Its body is not made up of rings. slug
4 a) It has four wings. dragonfly
b) It has two wings. housefly

Try working through the key to identify the dragonfly. You will work through steps

Task:
1. Using the key above, which steps would you go through to identify the earthworm?
2. Explain why the key is called a dichotomous key?

NOTE; LOTS OF ACTIVITIES AND QUESTIONS FROM


STUDENTS BOOK, NEW CAMBRIDGE SCIENCE
QUESTIONS

1. The diagram below shows five different mammals.

Write the letter of each species (A to E) in the correct box beside the key.

name of mammal letter

(a) has a humped back go to 2

1 (b) back is level with no hump go to 3

(a) has one hump on its back Camelus dromedarius

2 (b) has two humps on its back Camelus ferus


(a) has black fur on its face Lama glama

3 (b) fur on face is not black go to 4

(a) neck and legs long and thin Vicugna vicugna

4 (b) neck and legs short and thick Vicugna pacos

Fill in the table. One has been done for you

STEPS IDENTITY
1b, 3b, 4a, Vicugna vicugna
2.. MAKE A DICHOTOMUS KEY USING THE FOLLOWING ANIMALS

AND GIVE THE STEPS TO IDENTIFY EACH ANIMAL

TILAPIA SARDINE

LION DRAGONFLY

HOUSE FLY GRASS SNAKE

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