Bell ringer: What are the names of the taxa Linnaeus came up with, in order of biggest to smallest? What is the taxa that was invented in the 1990’s and is the biggest taxa?

Let’s Test Your Key! Choose a shell from your box and test your key. Can you correctly identify the shell?

Questions What is classification? Why is it important for each organism to have a unique scientific name? What should a good classification scheme be based on? On what characteristics did your team base its classification scheme? Did you have any shells in your container that didn’t seem to fit into a group? If so, what did you do with them?

Questions What do you think scientists do when they encounter a new organism that doesn’t fit into a group? Could others identify your shells with your classification scheme? Some groups had the same shells but gave them different scientific names. Could this be a problem? Why? Why is it important for all scientists to use a universal classification scheme? Was it difficult to create a classification key for your shells? Why or why not?

Dichotomous Key What you made (without knowing it!) was a dichotomous key A dichotomous key is a series of descriptions arranged in pairs that is used to identify an organism. Take a look at the dichotomous key on your table and try to identify a seashell with your group

Cladogram A cladogram is a branched diagram that shows the relationships among organisms

Homework Complete the dichotomous key practice sheet for homework