Classification keys to identify plants | Science | Quizalize & Oak National Academy

Starter quiz

A classification key is a series of ______ questions about the observable characteristics of living things.

'yes/no' ✓
Which of these questions about an ant eater can be answered with a "yes" or a "no"?

How old is it?

Is it a fish? ✓

Where does it live?

How many legs does it have?

Has it got fur? ✓
Which of these things describes the structure of a living thing?

It is wild.

It lives in the sea.

It has rough skin. ✓

Its teeth are sharp. ✓

I found it under a stone in the garden.
Thinking about the observable characteristic of size, put these animals in order of smallest to largest.

1

⇔

ant

2

⇔

mouse

3

⇔

dog

4

⇔

crocodile

5

⇔

elephant

6

⇔

whale
Which of these people might use a classification key at work to help them identify living things?

A plumber

A police officer

A zoologist ✓

An electrician

A naturalist ✓
What type of animal am I? I have fins, I don't have a curly tail and I am white.

seahorse

beluga whale ✓

basking shark

sea urchin

nudibranch

A ______ key is a series of yes/no questions about the observable characteristics of living things.

'classification' ✓
Which of these questions about the sunflower plant can be answered with a yes or a no?

Is it yellow? ✓

How tall is the sunflower?

What colour are the leaves?

Are the leaves purple? ✓

Where are these sunflowers growing?
We can use classification keys to help us to __________ plants.

observe and measure

identify and group ✓

collect and record
Which of these statements describe the structure of this pineapple plant?

It is shaped like a rugby ball.

It has shorter green leaves on the top. ✓

It grows in a jungle.
Which plant is being described? It has rough bark and has small yellow flowers.

bottle brush plant

silver birch ✓

pea plant

venus fly trap
Which plant is being described? It has smooth bark and makes seeds that grow in green pods.

bottle brush plant

silver birch

pea plant ✓

venus flytrap

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A classification key is a series of yes/no questions about the observable characteristics of living things.
Knowing the structure of plants is useful when using classification keys.
Botanists discover, identify and study plants in the local and wider environment.
Scientists including botanists, use classification keys to identify and group plants in the local and wider environment.

Pupils may try to identify plants using the habitat they are found in as opposed to their observable features.

Reinforce that where a plant lives is not an observable characteristic and cannot be used to identify it.

Classification key - Classification keys are diagrams which help us identify objects using yes/no questions.
Identify - To identify something is to be able to name it correctly.
Observable characteristics - An observable characteristic is a feature or property of something that we can see or use our other senses to observe.
Structure - The parts of a plants surface are called its structure.
Botanist - A botanist is scientist who studies plants.