Science Study Guide
Unit A Chapter 2
Vocabulary
Amphibians-Animals that usually live on water and later on land.
Birds-Animals that have feathers.
Fish-Animals that live only in water.
Gills-Body features that take in oxygen from water.
Inherit-To receive features from parents.
Mammals-Animals that feed their young with milk.
Reptiles-Land animals that have scales.
Scales-Body feature that helps protect a fish.
Trait-A body feature that an animal is born with.
Endangered-A species that may become extinct.
Fossil-Evidence of a plant or animal that lived long ago.
Threatened-An organism whose numbers are going down.
Extinct-When all of one kind of organism is gone forever.
Instincts-Behaviors an animal knows how to do.
Hibernate-Go into a deep sleep during winter months.
Migrate-Travel from one place to another and back again.
Camouflage-Colors, patterns, and shapes that help an animal blend in with its
surroundings.
Mimicry-Imitating the features of another animal to keep predators away.
-Mammals breathe with lungs.
-Mammals feed their young milk.
-Birds mostly fly with wings.
-Birds hatch from eggs.
-Fish live only in water.
-Fish breathe with gills.
-Snakes and crocodiles are reptiles because they have lungs and scales.
-The process that takes place as a tadpole changes into a frog is metamorphosis.
Describe how some of the parts of a beaver’s body help it survive. (The beaver uses
paws and mouth to help it get food. Its lungs help it get oxygen. Its mouth helps it
get water. Its teeth and paws help it make shelter.
-What are 2 reasons that organisms can become extinct today? (habitat loss, predators,
overhunting)
-Be able to explain that a turkey is different from a sheep and elephant. (The turkey has
wings and feathers and it hatches from an egg.)
-How do scientists infer what extinct animals from long ago looked like? (They use
fossils to make a model and compare the models with animals they know about.)