Final answer:
Dichotomous keys are systematic tools used to identify species, including bacteria, through a series of yes/no or two-choice questions based on observable characteristics.
Step-by-step explanation:
Dichotomous keys are used to identify species by answering a series of questions with two possible outcomes. Each answer leads the user to another question, or to the identification of the species. In the context of the Human Skin Microbiome Project, dichotomous keys assist in identifying different bacterial species found on human skin by guiding through observable traits such as colony morphology, Gram reaction, and other biochemical tests.
This systematic approach simplifies the complex task into manageable steps, allowing for distinctions to be made among similar organisms, such as different cocci or bacilli species used in a lab setting. Scaffolding in education refers to providing support and gradually removing that support as learners gain competence in a task.
Similarly, students constructing a dichotomous key in a laboratory setting are supported at the beginning with basic questions and then led to develop a more integrated understanding as they account for the results of tests performed to identify an unknown bacterium.