Cladograms and Dichotomous Keys

If you were asked to organize all of your clothing, how would you begin? Most likely, you would start by separating your clothing into large groups based on similarities and/or differences. These groups of clothing could then be broken down into smaller groups. For instance, you may decide to put all of your shirts together, and then organize them further based on color. If you were to categorizes different types of flowers, you might sort them according to color or the shapes of their leaves. In this topic, you will learn about a diagram that shows how living organisms are related by their characteristics. In addition, you will learn how to create a tool known as a dichotomous key that guides others step-by-step in identifying species.

Essential Question

• How can you use cladograms and dichotomous keys to classify organisms?