The identification of living or non-living things can be greatly simplified by using a tool known as a dichotomous key. The word dichotomous literally means “divided in two parts”. It therefore stands to reason that a dichotomous key divides a set of objects into two subsets based on the presence or absence of a particular character. Each question within the set leads to another set of more specific questions and so on, until the user reaches a conclusion as to the identity of the object. This form of classification is the one used most often by taxonomists because it offers the user a quick and easy way of identifying unknown organisms.
