Living things
Teachers guide
Purpose of this unit
Context
Most students are interested in living things and are motivated to
study them because of the variety of living things in their surroundings. And
because classification requires the comparison of organisms,
this unit also provides a context to develop skills in defining, describing and
comparing organisms.
Prescribed focus area
The prescribed focus area for this unit is the history of science.
The historical development of classification and the understanding
of photosynthesis are investigated. Contributions to science by
different cultures from the past are identified, and at the same time, nonscientific ideas from other cultures are considered and valued. The idea that
scientific ideas develop over time is introduced.
Syllabus
Outcomes
Prescribed Focus Area
4.1
identifies historical examples of how scientific
knowledge has changed people’s understanding of the
world
4.4
identifies choices made by people with regard to
scientific developments
Domain :Knowledge and understanding
4.8
describes features of living things
4.10
identifies factors affecting survival of organisms in an
ecosystem
Domain :Skills
4.16
accesses information from identified secondary sources
Domain :Values and Attitudes
4.23
demonstrates confidence and a willingness to make
decisions and to take responsible actions
4.24
respects differing viewpoints on science issues and is
honest, fair and ethical
4.26
recognises the role of science in providing information
about issues being considered and in increasing
understanding of the world around them
4.27
acknowledges their responsibility to conserve, protect
and maintain the environment for the future
Source:
Adapted from outcomes of the Science Years 7–10 syllabus
<http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_sc/index.html#science.pdf> (accessed 10 June
2004).
© Board of Studies.
Students have the opportunity to learn about:
•
the history of science
•
the implications of science for society and the environment
• classification
•
multicellular animals
•
ecosystems
•
identifying data sources
•
planning first-hand investigations
•
gathering information from secondary sources
•
processing information
•
presenting information
•
working individually
Students have the opportunity to learn to:
• 4.1
a
identify some of the scientific ideas that
different cultures have contributed to science
throughout history
b
describe (using examples including those
developed by Aboriginal peoples) ideas
developed by different cultures to explain the
world around them
c
describe some models and theories that have
been considered in science and then been
modified or rejected as a result of available
evidence
d
discuss examples where societal, religious or
ethical values have had an impact on scientific
developments
e
describe historical cases where developments in
science have led to the development of new
technologies
f
describe historical cases where developments or
improvements in technology have transformed
science
• 4.4
d
analyse reasons why different cultures or
groups within a society, including Aboriginal
people, may have different views in relation to
scientific issues
• 4.8.2
a
classify living things according to structural
features and identify that they have patterns of
similarities and differences
b
identify a range of plants and animals using
simple keys
a
identify that there is a wide range of
multicellular organisms
d
identify the materials required by multicellular
organisms for the processes of respiration and
photosynthesis
a
describe some adaptations of living things to
factors in their environment
• 4.8.4
• 4.10
b
describe, using examples of food chains and
food webs from Australian ecosystems, how
producers, consumers and decomposers are
related
• 4.13.1
g
formulate a means of recording the data to be
gathered or the information to be collected
• 4.13.2
c
describe a logical procedure for undertaking a
simple or controlled experiment
• 4.16
a
use a range of sources, including databases, CDROMs and the internet, to access information
d
summarise information from identified oral and
written secondary sources
d
organise data using a variety of methods
including diagrams, tables, spreadsheets and
databases
g
apply mathematical concepts and computer
based technologies to assist analysis of data and
information
b
select and use an appropriate medium to
present data and information
e
use drawings, diagrams, graphs, tables,
databases, spreadsheets and flow charts to show
relationships and present information clearly
and/or succinctly
f
select and draw the appropriate type of graph
(from column graph, histogram, divided bar,
sector or line graph) or diagram to convey
information and relationships clearly and
accurately
• 4.17
• 4.18
• 4.22
independently plan and conduct investigations,
communicate information and understanding
and solve problems
Indicative time
This unit has been written to take approximately 20 hours. Each part should
take approximately 5 hours.
Unit structure and flexibility
Here is a list of all the lessons in the unit.
Set 1
What are living things?
Lesson 1
Is it alive?
Lesson 2
Growing
Lesson 3
Response and reproducing
Lesson 4
Exchanging materials
Lesson 5
Scientific definitions
Set 2
What are plants and animals?
Lesson 6
Classifying living things
Lesson 7
Photosynthesis
Lesson 8
What do animals eat?
Lesson 9
Feeding relationships
Lesson 10
The mangroves
Set 3
More about classifying animals
Lesson 11
The variety of animals
Lesson 12
Animal classification
Lesson 13
Vertebrate animals
Lesson 14
Invertebrate animals
Lesson 15
Looking at insects- More keys
Set 4
More about classifying plants
Lesson 16
Plant features
Lesson 17
History of plant classification
Lesson 18
Plant groups
Lesson 19
Using a database
Lesson 20
Revision puzzles
Suggestions for using this unit
Sequencing
This unit is designed to follow Search for clues in the Year 7 program. This
means that students will already have experience with observing and describing
similarities and differences when they begin this unit. Students would be
advantaged by understanding biological concepts from this unit before
studying Through the microscope later in Stage 4.
Stand alone lessons
All of the lessons can be done as stand alone lessons.
Materials required by students
Print materials
There are four sets in this unit called Living things.
They are combined in one student booklet or can be printed as stand alone
lessons from the accompanying CD ROM- Living things.
Enclosures
Students require CD ROM Living things.
The swamp script
This audio is called The swamp. It belongs with the unit Living things, Set 2
Lesson 10.
N Have you have been to a mangrove swamp?
It’s a very special place. There’s nothing else like it.
This is a chance for you to get an idea of what it’s like
in a mangrove swamp. You may not have had the pleasure
of losing your gum boots in dark, sticky mud that smells rotten, swatting
dozens of blood-sucking mosquitoes, dodging huge
spider webs whilst picking your way around numerous crab burrows. Come
to think of it, this is probably the best way to study mangroves!
Why are we going to this trouble?
We are going to learn about mangroves – what they’re like and why
they’re important. And this is a really good opportunity
to revise what we’ve learned so far – observing, looking for similarities
and differences, classifying plants and animals
and writing food chains.
As you listen to the tape, try to work out why mangrove swamps are so
important.
(music)
Pretend you are with the students that are on this excursion.
You are all with your teacher, ready to go into the mangroves. Your teacher
will be guiding you – helping you with the activities, asking questions and
explaining things so you understand.
Make sure you complete the send-in excursion notes.
(pause)
T
We’re going to walk through the mangroves. We all need to keep very
quiet so we don’t scare any of the animals away. You’ll have to keep your
eyes open and observe very carefully
if you want to see anything.
T
Shh! Let’s go. Nice and quiet now.
(walking…)
S
What are all those things sticking up?
T
Good question. Look at the soil. What is it like?
S
Wet, muddy, sticky.
T
That’s right. Do you think that there is much air in there?
S
No, not really.
T
Yes, your right. Not much air can get through the water and
the mud is really sticky. The roots of the mangroves grow upwards so that
they can exchange gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide.
There are thousands and thousands of roots we can see.
These roots everywhere are really handy for the animals that live here. Any
ideas why? Can you see anything on the roots?
S
It looks like a shell or something stuck on the tree.
S
Look! There’s a crab.
S
There are a few very small fish, I think, swimming around there too.
T
All those are good observations. We can see that mangroves provide a
home for small animals. In the water around the roots, it's hard for big
fish to get in to eat them. And shellfish can
attach themselves to the trees.
(pause)
T
Doesn’t it seem a little strange to see trees growing in water?
And large trees at that! What types of plants do you usually find living in
water?
S
Seaweeds, algae, kelp, bulrushes, reeds, seagrasses.
T
Correct. Does anyone know any other trees, besides mangroves, that live
in salty water?
There are not many trees that can live in conditions like this. Mangroves
are one of the few land plants that can live
in shallow salty water.
Those people that are near a tree, have a close look at the leaves.
What can you see on the surface of the leaves?
What do you observe?
S
There are white things – crystals. They look like salt or sugar
or something.
(pause)
T
Touch the leaves. Now lick your fingers. How do they taste?
S
Yuk. They’re all salty!
T
That’s because mangroves take in salty water through the roots. Then to
get rid of the salt, they excrete it through the leaves.
Too much salt would kill a normal plant.
What I’d like you all to do now is to record your observations. So get out
your excursion notes and write a description of
the mangrove environment. Find the place where it says ‘Describe the
mangrove environment’.
There is space below this for you to write your description.
(music)
S
You mean you just say things about salty leaves and stuff?
T
Yes, that’s right. Write down what you think is different
about mangroves. What features make this place special?
S
Like it’s muddy and salty water…
T
Yes, a muddy, salty environment.
As you came into the mangrove area, you would have seen
lots of different animals. For example, there are many spiders.
If you look over there, there are about a dozen or so in big webs.
What do you think those spiders are catching in their webs?
S
Flies, beetles, insects.
T
Different sorts of insects, probably. Notice, though, that there is lots of
evidence around here of animals, even though we can’t see them. Look at
the leaves. What’s happened to them?
(pause)
S
Looks like something has been chewing them.
T
What do you think it could have been?
S
Snails, worms, caterpillars, insects.
T
OK. Let’s look closely at those spider webs.
S
Do we have to?
T
Yes, but be careful! These are jumping swamp spiders!
Only kidding.
You will have noticed lots of little balls. What do you think
they might be?
S
Eggs, insects.
T
Yes, insects are caught and wrapped up until the spider is ready to eat
them.
T
Does anyone know another way to identify animals in the swamp? If
you’re very quiet what can we do?
S
Hear them.
T
OK. Let’s be very quiet and listen for some more animals.
S
Look, there’s a dragonfly. Shhh!
(cricket calls)
S
Crickets, bugs.
T
If you listen carefully you might hear some birds.
(bird calls)
(pause)
S
I can hear one! I wonder what it is? Could be a crow.
I saw one earlier. I saw a pelican and an ibis too.
T
There are a lot of birds that eat fish near a mangrove swamp – ibis, cranes,
storks, pelicans.
T
Now I’d like you to turn to your excursion notes again.
This time find the place where it says ‘List the animals that
you have observed on your walk through the mangroves’.
Can you fill that in now, please?
(music)
S
Miss, did you mean animals like crabs, birds, spiders?
S
Insects?
T
Anything else?
S
Tadpoles, were there? I don’t know. Little fish maybe?
They look pretty much the same.
T
How can we tell the difference?
S
Let’s catch some.
T
OK. Here are some nets to scoop up the water and whatever is in there. Put
your animals in these dishes, with some water. Use the hand lens to see the
animals more clearly.
S
But how can we tell what we’ve caught?
T
In your notes, there is a chart with drawings of the animals that could be
in the water. Have a close look at your animals and identify them using
the chart – it’s called ‘Water animals’.
N Photograph 13 shows you some of the students studying an animal that they
have collected. Listen to the conversation and decide from the description
and the drawings in your notes what the animal is.
(pause)
S
We’ve got something. It’s either a tadpole or a tiny fish.
It’s long and thin. It’s got a head and a tail. It’s a fish. Why? Look at the
fins and the tail. But they have both got tails. Yes, but this one is like a
little fan and much shorter than a tadpole’s. Miss, is this a tadpole or a
fish? We’re not sure.
T
I think it looks like a fish. If you look closely, it has got fins
to help it move.
N What do you think they’ve caught?
S
We’ve caught something. It’s got lots of legs. And it’s moving quite a lot.
Its body is in segments – all bits joined on together. But it could be lots of
things. Dragonfly nymph, mayfly nymph, crayfish, damselfly nymph or
a shrimp. Its got long feelers
in the front of its body. No claws.
N So what do you think it is? I think it’s a shrimp, don’t you?
S
What do these tiny water animals eat?
T
Well, the small fishes eat the shrimp and the insect larvae like the mosquito
larvae. We definitely know that there are mosquitoes here! I don’t know
about you but I’ve been bitten lots of times. The crabs, shrimps and insect
larvae eat mangrove leaves that have rotted away. And the crabs are eaten by
birds.
S
Yes, that’s right. I saw a dead crab with its insides missing back there!
T
The next activity is to write as many food chains as you can from what we’ve
observed and talked about on our way through the mangroves. You can use
the list of animals that you wrote down as well as the ones we’ve just caught in
the water.
Are there any questions?
S
How do we start?
T
How do we start all food chains?
S
A plant.
T
Yes. What plants are there in this environment?
S
Mangroves. That’s about all you can see.
T
There is a space for you to write your food chains in the excursion notes. The
heading is ‘Food chains’.
I’ll give you five minutes to write down as many as you can.
(music)
T
Now the last thing we need to do is try to work out
why the mangrove environment is so important.
Has anyone got any idea?
S
Maybe this is a good place for very small or baby fish and prawns and
things like that.
T
Yes, that is a good observation. There are a lot of baby animals
in this area. Little fish are eaten by bigger fish, etcetera.
So, this area acts as a kind of nursery. Large carnivores can’t live and hunt
small fish here, so the small fish are protected and
can grow up to be big fish. Their chances of survival are greater here than in
the open water.
Anything else?
S
There’s lots of mud and stuff here.
T
That’s right. The mud accumulates – builds up – here.
Eventually this area could change into more solid land and support
different kinds of life. So the mangroves are land builders as well as fish
nurseries.
What would it be like here if there was a storm? How would it be
different from the actual coastline, the beach, etcetera.
S
It wouldn’t be so windy. It would be more sheltered.
Less sand would blow away.
T
Yes that’s right, so the mangroves are protecting the coastline from
erosion – that is, the wind doesn’t blow the soil and
sand away, especially during storms.
Use these ideas to write down the reasons you think
mangrove swamps are important. On your excursion sheets, there is a
space for you to write your ideas under the question ‘Do you think that
mangrove environments should be protected? Give a reason for your
answer.’
(music)
Answers– Part 1
Exercise 1.1
What are living things?
Write a list of characteristics that separate living from non-living things.
Living things can die.
Living things grow and develop.
Living things can reproduce.
Living things respond to a stimulus.
Living things take in materials.
Processes occur inside the bodies of living things.
Materials are given out by living things.
Exercise 1.2
1
Growing
Did the wheat grow? How do you know?
Yes, the wheat grew. The length of the shoot went from 4mm to
600mm.
2
Compare the first drawing of the wheat with the last one. How has the
wheat changed?
The wheat has grown taller. It also looks very different. At first there
was just one small shoot on its own. After 200 days, the plant is taller
with three stems and many leaves. It has formed seeds on a stem.
3
Is wheat a living thing? Explain your answer.
Wheat is a living thing. Wheat has shown some of the characteristics of
life. It has grown and changed over time. It has taken in at least one
material from the environment – water.
4
Both the table and the column graph contain the same results.
a
Which one do you think shows the results more clearly?
the table
b
the column graph
Write a sentence describing what the table and graph show.
a
Some people prefer to look at results in tables while others prefer
graphs. Often, a graph is a clearer way to present results because it
is a ‘picture’ of the results.
b
Both the table and the column graph show that the wheat plants
increase in height (get taller) as they grow.
Exercise 1.3
Reproduction
Complete a definition of the term reproduction using what you have learned.
Reproduction is the process by which living things produce new
individuals which are similar to themselves.
Exercise 1.4
1
Exchanging materials
Living things need to take in materials such as food, water and air
because:
Living things use these materials for energy and for growth and repair
through assimilation.
2
Living things need to get rid of wastes such as urine, breath and sweat
because:
Living things need to get rid of these materials because they are
harmful to the body.
Exercise 1.5
Scientific definitions
Students' answers will indicate how well they can write definitions as well as
how much they have learned about the characteristics of life.
Write your definitions for the following terms:
•
growth
Growth is an increase in size.
•
development
Development is the changes that occur as living things grow.
•
reproduction
Reproduction is the process by which living things produce new
individuals which are similar to themselves.
•
assimilation
Assimilation is the process where materials from the environment
become part of the body of a living thing
•
respiration
Respiration is the process that releases energy from food (glucose).
•
excretion
Excretion is the removal of waste materials from respiration.
Answers – Part 2
Exercise 2.1
Classifying living things
Fill in the blanks on this summary using the following words:
food
living things
animals
plants
•
Living things can be classified as plants or animals.
•
Most animals can move from place to place.
•
Most plants are green.
•
Plants make their food but animals cannot.
Exercise 2.2
Discovering photosynthesis
The ‘small’ words such as to, in and so on don’t seem to mean much in a
passage but they are necessary when you are trying to express an idea.
This sort of cloze passage is designed to assess how well the students can
predict as they communicate ideas.
1
Complete this summary of photosynthesis using the words below.
that
is
in
to
the
and
for
their
from
as
Plants and animals are living things. They are similar in many ways. Both
plants and animals grow, reproduce, respond to stimuli and exchange
materials with the environment.
Plants and animals obtain their food in different ways. Green plants can
make their own food, whereas animals rely on plants or other animals for
their food. Animals cannot make their own food.
The process by which plants make their own food is called photosynthesis.
For photosynthesis to occur, plants need energy from raw materials.
Plants take in carbon dioxide through their leaves in the air. Water is
absorbed from the soil through the roots. These are the raw materials that
plants need to make food.
Energy is needed so that plants can make their own food. The source of this
energy is sunlight. Green plants contain chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is the
green pigment that can trap energy from sunlight.
Photosynthesis produces oxygen and water as well as food in plants. Oxygen
and water are given out by plants through the leaves during the day, since
photosynthesis only occurs when there is light.
Animals rely on plants for their food and their oxygen.
Exercise 2.3
What do animals eat?
Complete the following summary using the words below.
plants
plants
carnivore
omnivores
animals
producers
consumers
food
•
Plants are producers because they carry out photosynthesis.
•
Living things that need to eat are called consumers.
•
Consumers can be classified by their food .
•
Humans usually eat both meat and plants, so we are in the
group of animals called omnivores.
•
Omnivores eat animals and plants.
•
Carnivores eat other animals or meat.
•
Herbivores only eat plants .
Exercise 2.4: Feeding relationships
Fill in the blanks below
1 seaweed

fish

shark
2 grass

kangaroo

dingo
3 clover

cow

human
4 grass

caterpillar

kookaburra
5 cabbage

cabbage moth

magpie
Exercise 2.5
The mangroves – Excursion notes
Students' answers will give you an idea of how carefully the students
listened to the audio. That is, answers demonstrate their ability to extract
information from verbal language and to communicate that information in
text and food chains. Students' attitudes to environmental issues may be
shown in their answers to the last question
Mangrove trees are often found around the shores where rivers meet the
sea. They usually form extensive forests because so many of them group
together. Sadly, mangrove areas have been used as rubbish dumps and
for disposing of factory wastes. Mangroves have also been cut down to
be replaced by tourist resorts.
First impressions
• Describe the mangrove environment.
Open responseThe mangrove environment has lots of trees close together.
The roots of the trees are sticking up out of sticky and smelly mud.
There is lots of evidence of spiders, mosquitoes and other small animals.
• List the animals that you have observed on your walk through the
mangroves.
Animals include crab, spiders, mosquitoes, birds, small fish, insects,
crickets, shrimp and dragonflies.
Mangrove feeding relationships
The diagram following shows a food web in a mangrove ecosystem. It is
an unusual food web because many of the food chains start from a
material called detritus. This material consists of the broken down
leaves of mangrove trees as well as any other organic material. It forms
a rich oozy material that is found on the floor of mangrove areas. These
pieces of mangrove leaves become food for molluscs, worms, young
fish, crabs and prawns. These animals are then eaten by larger fish,
crabs and birds.
•
Circle the producer(s) in the diagram below.
•
The producers are eaten by herbivores. Write down two organisms that
are herbivores.
oysters, prawns,
•
The herbivores are eaten by carnivores. Write down two organisms that
are carnivores.
cormorant, pelican, bream, small fish, oystercatcher
Mangrove food web
• Write three food chains to represent the feeding relationships in the
mangrove environment.
Open
mangrove leaves
crabs

birds
mangrove leaves
insects

spiders
mangrove leaves
insects

small fish
insect larvae 
small fish
mangrove leaves
• Do you think that mangrove environments should be protected?
Explain your answer.
Open
The mangrove environment is an important environment for a number
of reasons. Mangrove areas act as nurseries for fish and crustaceans
such as crabs and shrimp (prawns). As well, the mangroves act as
a buffer against storm damage, preventing a great deal of soil erosion.
The roots of the mangrove trees collect silt and oil as they run off the
land. In this way the environment is changing as land is being built.
Answers – Part 3
Exercise: 3.1 A variety of animals
This exercise shows how well students can observe and compare animals,
and report these comparisons. These are steps in classifying that students
have been learning about and practising during the unit.
Compare five flying animals – a bee, dragonfly, cockatoo, bat and a pelican.
dragonfly
pelican
bee
cockatoo
bat
Write sentences describing at least three similarities and three differences of
these animals.
Similarities
Here are some sample answers. Students may compare pairs of animals or
all the animals.
• All the animals are similar because they have wings.
•
All the animals are alike because they can fly.
•
A feature that the animals have in common is eyes.
•
A similarity between the animals is that they have legs.
Differences
Here are some sample answers. Students may compare pairs of animals or
all the animals.
• A difference between the animals is that the pelican and cockatoo have
feathers but the dragonfly, bee and bat do not.
•
The pelican and cockatoo differ from the dragonfly, bee and bat in that the
pelican and cockatoo have beaks but the other animals do not.
•
The dragonfly and bee have six legs whereas the pelican, cockatoo and
bat have two legs.
•
Unlike the dragonfly and bee, the pelican, cockatoo and bat have bones.
Exercise 3.2: Animal classification
Aristotle studied structural features of many living things. He used some
features – movement, method of feeding and growth patterns – to divide
living things.
The table below gives information about two of these features.
Remember, Aristotle didn't know about photosynthesis.
Living things
Movement
Method of feeding
land plants
stay in one place
feed from soil
mushrooms
stay in one place
feed from soil
seaweed
stay in one place or carried
by water
feed from water
mould
stay in one place or move
very slowly
feed from dead organisms
animals
most move from place to
place
feed from dead organisms
Aristotle divided the organisms into two groups called kingdoms.
1
Use Aristotle's information in the previous table to divide land plants,
mushrooms, seaweed, mould and animals into the two kingdoms below.
Plant kingdom
Animal kingdom
land plants
mushrooms
animals
seaweed
?mould?
?mould?
2
Did you find any organism(s) difficult to classify into only one kingdom?
Explain.
Mould was difficult to classify because it was similar to animals in that
it fed on dead organism and could move. But it was also similar to
plants because it could stay in one place. Seaweed could also be
considered a problem because it is able to move in water.
3
Aristotle's classification of living things into a plant kingdom and an
animal kingdom was important in the development of modern biology.
Why?
Aristotle used structural features for his classification. Structural
features are used in modern classification systems. Aristotle also made
and recorded detailed studies of many living things.
4
Biologists today do not use Aristotle's two kingdoms. Why do you think
his classification system has been rejected?
New information has become available – an understanding of
photosynthesis – and Aristotle's information about feeding methods is
now considered wrong.
Thus, his classification system is rejected. Or, the difficulty with
classifying mould means that the system is not really useful and
needed to be changed.
Or, movement is not a structural feature but a behaviour so it is not
very useful for classifying dead organisms.
Exercise 3.3: Vertebrate animals
1
In the lesson, you classified five animals – a dog, forest dragon, parrot,
sardine and river frog.
green tree frog
sardine
King parrot
Forest dragon
dog
Write their names into the correct spaces in the key below.
vertebrate animals
feathers
no feathers
King parrot
hair or fur
Dog
no hair or fur
scales
no scales
green tree frog
gills
sardine
2
lungs
forest dragon
From the key, list the features of a forest dragon.
A forest dragon is a vertebrate with lungs and scales
(but without hair, fur or feathers).
3
Here again is the vertebrate key you have been using this lesson.
vertebrate animals
feathers
no feathers
bird s
hair or fur
no hair or fur
mam mals
scales
no scales
amp hibi ans
gills
lungs
fis h
reptiles
Use the key to classify each of the vertebrates shown below.
Name: Tuna
Name: Ring-tailed possum
Class: Fish
Class: Mammal
Name: Magpie
Name: Marsh frog
Class: Bird
Class: Amphibian
Name: Tuna
Name: Goanna
Class:
Class: Fish
Class: Reptile
Name: Red bellied black snake
Name: Axolotyl
Class: Amphibian
Class: Reptile
Name: Tortoise
Class: Reptile
Name: Platypus
Class: Mammal
Name: Bilby
Name: Tawny forgmouth
Class: Mammal
Class: Bird
Exercise 3.4: Invertebrate animals
Here is the key you have been using.
invertebrate animals
legs
no legs
arthropods
3 pairs
of legs
more than
3 pairs of legs
antennae
or tentacles
no antennae
or tentacles
insects
no antennae
antennae
soft
body
hard
shell
long
body
spiny
covering
arachnids
crustaceans
cnidarians
molluscs
worms
echinoderms
A key for invertebrate animals
1
Use the key to classify the animal pictured.
a
To which invertebrate group
does this animal belong?
Worms
b
Why did you choose this group?
The organism has no legs, no antennae or tentacles and a long body.
2
Use the key to write a description of arachnids.
Arachnids are invertebrates with no antennae and more than three pairs of
legs
Exercise 3.5: Looking at insects- more keys
Tick the features that you can see for each animal.
1
2
3
4

three body parts – head, thorax and abdomen

two large compound eyes

a pair of antennae

six legs attached to the thorax

three body parts – head, thorax and abdomen

two large compound eyes

a pair of antennae

six legs attached to the thorax

three body parts – head, thorax and abdomen

two large compound eyes

a pair of antennae

six legs attached to the thorax

three body parts – head, thorax and abdomen

two large compound eyes

a pair of antennae

six legs attached to the thorax
Answers – Part 4
Exercise 4.1: Plant features
Write a summary of the lesson that looks at the features of plants.
Summary
Open
1
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
2
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
3
_______________________________________________________
Exercise: 4.2 : History of plant classification
Use the information in the table, ‘A short history of plant classification’, to
answer the following questions.
1
What features have been used in the past to classify plants?
Features that have been used to classify plants in the past include: flower
shape; type of fruit; the general appearance of seeds and fruit; leaves,
flowers and fruit; flower structure.
2
Which feature has been used the most in plant classification?
The most frequently used feature is flower structure.
3
Which feature has been used most recently to classify plants?
The most recently used feature is flower structure.
4 What contribution have these people made to science?
Students may simply write the information from the table as sentences.
For example:
Albert the Great used flower shape and type of fruit for classification
but Andrea Cesalpina used seeds, fruit and general appearance.
Then John Ray used leaves, flower and fruit but de Tournefort and
Carolus Linnaeus used flower structure.
A student may demonstrate the ability to synthesis the information
by writing an answer such as:
These scientists have contributed to the gradual development and refining
of the way that plants are classified. The use of flowers for classification
have become more and more important.
Exercise: 4.3 Plant groups
plants
Are there roots and stems?
no
yes
Are there leaves?
no
algae
yes
bryophytes
Are there seeds?
no
yes
pteridophytes
Are there flowers?
no
gymnosperms
1
yes
angiosperms
Use the key to identify the group to which each of the plants below
belongs. Write the group on the line beside the photograph.
a
Angiosperm
b
Gymnosperm
Pteridophyte
c
2
a
Did you find it difficult to classify any of the plants in Question 1?
Which one(s)?
Plants a and b are difficult to classify
(b) Why? (What extra information did you need to make a decision?)
I need to be able to see roots of the plant and if it has seeds.
b
Why? (What extra information did you need to make a decision?)
Exercise: 4.4 Using a database
Below is a screen shot of a new record in the Living things database.
1
Create that record in your copy of the database and then print a copy
of it for your teacher.
The student should produce a screen that looks the same as the above.
2
Use the database to find the following groups of animals.
a
Name two members of the phylum Cnidaria
The student needs to push the Find button and then put Cnidaria in
the Phylum box, then push the Find button. This should produce
two members Bluebottle and Jellyfish.
b
Name the producers in the database.
The student needs to push the Find button and then put producer in
the Description box, then push the Find button. This should
produce six members Dandelion, Gum tree, Pine tree, grass, wheat
and sedge.
c
Name the five carnivores in the database.
The student needs to push the Find button and then put carnivore
in the Description box, then push the Find button. This should
produce nineteen members Blue whale, dog, red fox, tiger, blueringed octopus, blue swimmer crab, bluebottle, sea urchin, wasp,
forest dragon, green tree frog, magpie, blue wren, jellyfish, sardine,
shark, tuna, squid and starfish.
Exercise:4.5 Revision puzzles
To help you practise observing and describing, two spiders are drawn in the
picture following.
Female small black house spiders and female Sydney funnel-web spiders look
very similar, but it is important that you can tell the difference in an
emergency! The Sydney funnel-web spider is highly venomous while the
small black house spider is not lethal (deadly).
List as many differences between the female small black house spider and the
female Sydney funnel-web spider as you can.
Remember, these observations could save your life!
Sydney funnel-w eb spider (female)
Small black house spider (female)
represent s
represent s
12 mm
4 mm
cephalothorax
abdomen
spinnerets
Spot the difference
Use sentences to write about the differences.
• The small black house spider is much smaller than the Sydney funnel-web
spider.
•
The eyes of the funnel-web are grouped closer together than the eyes of
the black house spider.
•
The spinnerets on the funnel-web are larger than the house spider's spinnerets.
•
The abdomen on the black house spider is smaller compared with the rest of its
body but the Funnel-web has a bigger abdomen relative to the rest of its body.