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On this site possible to create online dichotomous identification keys. A new key can be generated after registration on this site. After the account has been activated the user can contact the Administrator (Paul Beuk) with the request to create a new key.
- Dichotomous keys are often used in the sciences, such as biology and geology. To make your own dichotomous key, first, select the characteristics you can use to contrast your specimens, then formulate these as a series of statements or questions you can use to narrow them down.
- In this project, you will be creating a dichotomous key. Dichotomous keys are tools used by scientists to identify unknown organisms. Use the animals listed to create a dichotomous key. Decide upon a way to divide the items into two groups. Think of identifying characteristics such as shape, size, position, colour, texture, etc.
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Biomes/Habitats | EnchantedLearning.com Make a Dichotomous Key: Classroom Activity | Plant Dictionary |
A dichotomous key is a series of questions which leads to the identification of an item. |
At each step of the process of using the key, the user is given two choices; each alternative leads to another question until the item is identified. (It's like playing 20 questions.)
For example, a question in a dichotomous key for trees might be something like, 'Are the leaves flat or needle-like?' If the answer was'needle-like,' then the next question might be something like, 'Are the needles in a bunch or are they spread along the branch?' Eventually, when enough questions have been answered, the identity of the tree is revealed.
Classroom Activity:
| As a simple example, you can construct a dichotomous key to identify people (or another group of items) in a classroom, using questions based on gender, hair length/color, glasses (or not), clothing color, etc. Question 1: Is the person male or female? The end of each branch of the key should be a person's name. A dichotomous key will have enough questions to identify each member of the group. To test it, you can identify each person in the group by going through the key and seeing if the right name comes up. |
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