Identifying Unknown Organisms Answers

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Rory is trying to identify a tree from one of its leaves. A question on the dichotomous key that he is using asks whether the leaf has 3-5 lobes or more than 5 lobes. Rory cannot tell whether the leaf in his hand has 5 or 6 lobes. What should Rory do to continue identifying the tree?

Look at other leaves from the same tree, and count how many lobes they have.

Skip this question, since one question does not make a difference.

Start over from the beginning of the dichotomous key.

Find a different dichotomous key to use that does not ask this question.

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A botanist observes a large population of a particular type of beetle eating the leaves of one tree but not the leaves of a nearby tree. What should the botanist do first to study the interaction of these organisms in the ecosystem?

Remove the beetle population from the tree, and study them in the lab.

Identify the species of the beetle and the species of both trees.

Determine why the beetle is eating one tree but not the other.

Recommend a treatment that will keep the beetles from eating the trees.

Observations of organisms include

descriptions of why the organism has certain traits.

descriptions of the number, size, and arrangement of parts of the organism.

conclusions made about the characteristics of an organism.

conclusions made based on an organism’s DNA.

Use this chart of a portion of a dichotomous key to answer the question.Dichotomous KeyWhich number on the dichotomous key represents the point of differentiation between organism X from organism Z?

branch 1

branch 3

branch 5

branch 9

A biologist is using a dichotomous key to identify fish.1. (a) Has a single dorsal fin ® 5 (b) Has a double dorsal fin ® 22. (a) One fin is spiny, the other is smooth ® 3 (b) One fin is not spiny or smooth ® 45. (a) Has small fin on back near tail ® 6 (b) Has no fin on back near tail ® 76. (a) Has barbs near the mouth ® Catfish (b) Does not have barbs near the mouth ® 107. (a) Tail is asymmetrical ® 8 (b) Tail is symmetrical ® 910. (a) Scales are small ® Trout (b) Scales are large ® WhitefishWhat is the next step to take to identify a fish that has a single dorsal fin and no fin on the back near the tail?

step 5

step 2

step 7

step 6

Which best describes a dichotomous key?

Each step has two choices.

Each step can have any number of choices.

Each step describes two possible inferences.

Each step is based on genetic traits.

Dichotomous keys ask

open-ended questions about animal behavior.

open-ended questions about easily observable characteristics.

yes-or-no questions about animal behavior.

yes-or-no questions about easily observable characteristics.

A scientist wants to study the interactions of different birds in the southern part of a desert. What should the scientist do first?

Identify local names for each bird species.

Determine what foods each bird species eats.

Identify each bird species by using a dichotomous key.

Determine each bird species' migration pattern.

Refer to this portion of a dichotomous key for fish identification to answer the question.1. (a) Has a single dorsal fin ® 5 (b) Has a double dorsal fin ® 25. (a) Has small fin on back near tail ® 6 (b) Has no fin on back near tail ® 76. (a) Has barbs near the mouth ® Catfish (b) Does not have barbs near the mouth ® 10What do the numbers after the arrows represent?

the number of the question that should be considered next

the number of steps remaining before the organism is identified

the number of questions that need to be answered

the number of species that have the described characteristic

Amaya collected insects in the forest. She was unable to identify one unusual looking insect using a dichotomous key. Amaya concluded that the insect must be a new species. Which facts would support the conclusion that the insect is a new species?

The insect cannot be identified based on one of the first three questions.

The way the insect was collected may have caused damage to its exoskeleton and wings.

Several other thorough and up-to-date dichotomous keys also failed to identify the insect.

The normal diet of many insects in the forest has been seriously altered by a recent drought.

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Identifying Unknown Organisms Answers

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