Using Classification Keys

Field guide to the rescue! Imagine this…. Your grandma has always told you about gathering elderberries from the forest and making elderberry jam. You’ve tasted some of this jam, and it is fabulous! You want to make some, but don’t know what an elderberry is, or how to find them. What to do? Field guide to the rescue!

A field guide helps identify things Living things Non-living things

Field guides have identification keys A DICHOTOMOUS KEY asks two questions at each step. If the answer to the question is yes, follow the instructions to the right of the question.

Field guides have identification keys A DICHOTOMOUS KEY asks two questions at each step. Some dichotomous keys have arrows and boxes. Start at the single box on top or the left side and work through the criteria.

Field guides have identification keys Some identification tools are CIRCULAR KEYS. To use this type, start at the center and follow the traits that describe the sample.

Field guides have identification keys Some identification tools are GRID KEYS To use this type, start at any point and eliminate choices in the row which do not fit completely with the traits of the sample.

Some identification tools are EVOLUTIONARY TREES Some identification tools are EVOLUTIONARY TREES. These show how organisms are related and at what time they evolved. To use this type, the oldest organisms will start at the bottom left and the youngest at the top right.

CLASSIFICATION STATION Now you try to practice using these keys. Visit each station and identify the samples on the index cards. You may ask each other questions, but don’t just copy answers. Use the keys at the station to identify the samples. Have fun!

Confirm your results: Yellow 1 Green 1 Yellow 2 Green 2 Yellow 3 Red 1 Orange 1 Red 2 Orange 2 Red 3 Purple 1 Orchid Purple 2 Sea Cucumber

Is a leaf more like an insect or a mineral? SHARE YOUR OPINION “Only taxonomists need to know how to classify things.” Is a leaf more like an insect or a mineral?