Dichotomous Keys
What is the purpose of a dichotomous key?
To identify organisms based on their characteristics.
What is the broadest group in the Linnaean system?
Kingdom
What do we call all the living and non-living parts of an environment?
An ecosystem.
What do arrows in a food chain represent?
The flow of energy.
List the 5 kingdoms of classification
Animalia, Plantae, Protista, Fungi, Monera (bacteria).
How many choices are given at each step in a dichotomous key?
Two
What is the correct order of classification: Kingdom, ____, Class?
Phylum
Which is a biotic factor: sunlight, grass, or rocks?
Grass
What is the name for organisms that eat producers in a food chain?
Primary consumers.
Which kingdom contains organisms that make their own food using photosynthesis and cannot move from place to place?
Plantae
What does a dichotomous key mainly use: behaviours or physical features?
Physical features.
In Panthera leo, what does Panthera represent?
The genus.
What would happen if all the plants died in an ecosystem? (Pick one) A) Nothing, B) All animals would thrive, C) Many animals would die
C) Many animals would die.
In a food chain, what type of organism always comes first?
Producer
Which kingdom do not have a nucleus in their cells?
Monera
Which characteristic would be most useful in a dichotomous key: number of legs or how fast an animal moves?
Number of legs.
True or false: All organisms in the same species can reproduce and have fertile offspring.
True
Which organism breaks down dead things?
Decomposer.
Which is more realistic in nature: a food chain or a food web?
A food web.
Explain one difference between plants and fungi in terms of how they get their food.
Plants are autotrophs, which means they make their own food using photosynthesis and sunlight.
Fungi are heterotrophs, which means they cannot make their own food. Instead, they absorb nutrients from other organisms or dead material.
See Word Document
Stick Insect
What level of classification comes directly before genus in the Linnaean system?
Family
A large factory pollutes a river, killing many aquatic plants. What is the most likely effect on the rest of the ecosystem?
Herbivores will lose food, leading to fewer animals overall and disrupted food chains.
In the chain: Grass → Mouse → Snake → Hawk, what would happen if all the mice disappeared?
Grass would increase, snakes would decrease from lack of food, and hawks might also decrease because there are fewer snakes to eat.
A scientist discovers a microscopic organism with the following characteristics: It has a nucleus, it is single-celled, it can move by itself, and it does not make its own food.
Which kingdom does this organism most likely belong to? Explain why
Protista
Has a nucleus → this means it is not Monera.
Is single-celled → many protists are single-celled.
Can move by itself → many protists (like amoeba or paramecium) can move.
Does not make its own food → some protists are heterotrophs.