Using a Dichotomous Key to Identify Organisms

CHARACTERISTICS OF KINGDOMS
David Doyle

+ Kingdom – Animals
+ They are:
+ Multicellular
+ Cells have a nucleus, but do not have cell walls
or chloroplasts
+ They are heterotrophic (consume other living
things or substances made from living things).
+

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KINGDOM - PLANTS

Most of us will be familiar with flowering plants

such as trees. These types of plants have leaves,
stems, roots and flowers.
However many plants (including mosses & ferns)
do not have flowers.
All plants contain chlorophyll which allows plants
to absorb sunlight and produce food through a
process called photosynthesis.

All plants are multicellular.

Cells have a nucleus, a cell wall made of cellulose,
and contain chloroplasts.
They feed by photosynthesis (they are
autotrophic).

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CLASSIFYING PLANTS
Remember plants are organisms that have cell walls made of cellulose. They are green
because they contain chlorophyll which allows them to do photosynthesis.

Ferns Flowering Plants

Ferns belong to the type of plants that do not
make flowers.
The reproduce by making spores on the underside
of their leaves (called fronds).
Plants with roots, leaves and stems.
Reproduce sexually by means of flowers and seeds.
Seeds are produced inside the ovary inside the
flower.
Two types: Monocots & Dicots

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MONOCOTS & DICOTS

Flowering plants can be divided into two main

groups: the monocotyledons and dicotyledons.
Monocots have one cotyledon (these are
structures that turn into the first leaves on a plant)
in their seeds while dicots have two.
There are also difference between monocot and
dicot leaves and roots.
Monocots generally have parallel veins on their
leaves and a branching root system while dicots
have broader branching veins and a tap root
system.

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WHICH ONE IS WHICH?

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TASK 1
Draw some neat freehand sketches in your notebook showing the
differences between Monocots and Dicots

Be sure to include all distinguishing features that biologists would

use to classify a flowering plant into either a monocot or a dicot.

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KINGDOM - FUNGI

For a log time fungi were classified as plants.

However, nowadays we have discovered they are
very different and deserve to be placed in their
own kingdom.
We can eat some fungi (mushrooms), use them for
making bread and alcohol (yeasts) but some can
also cause disease.

Usually multicellular but some are unicellular.

Have nuclei
Cells have cell walls but are different from plant
cell walls (do not have a nucleus).
They do not have chlorophyll
Feed saprophytically (organisms that obtain
nutrients directly from dead mater or waste).

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USING DICHOTOMOUS KEYS FOR IDENTIFYING SPECIES

Keys are used to identify organisms based

on a series of questions about their
features
Dichotomous means ‘branching into two’
and it leads the user through to the name of
the organism by giving two descriptions at
a time and asking them to choose
Each choice leads the user onto another two
descriptions
In order to successfully navigate a key, you
need to pick a single organism to start with
and follow the statements from the
beginning until you find the name
You then pick another organism and start at
the beginning of the key again, repeating
until all organisms are named

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PRACTICE
Work with your learning partner to discuss and identify each of these Molluscs

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PRACTICE
Work with your learning partner to discuss and identify each of these Molluscs

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TASK 2

Working in Pairs - Create a Dichotomous key to help someone identify five of

your teachers.

Try to meet these criteria:

- Each pair of characteristics describes one contrasting feature

- Each person could be identified without having to compare them with another
person
- The key contains no more than four pairs of points.

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