Name:
WHO AM I??? PHYLUM SUMMARY ASSIGNMENT
For each scenario below, identify the characteristics you used to classify the animal
into the appropriate phyla. Next, list other characteristics NOT found in the
description.
1. While snorkeling off the coast of Australia you encounter an organism which
you must identify for your research team. The animal feeds using a filtering
system and breathes through gills. You take it back to your lab and dissect.
You discover a heart with 3 chambers and an open circulatory system. What
phyla does this animal belong to?
Phylum
Identifying characteristics
3 more characteristics
2. You also find another organism out on the reef. It has no symmetry and has
many tiny holes in it. When you examine it closely you find no organs. What
phyla does this animal belong to?
Phylum
Identifying characteristics
3 more characteristics
3. On your way back to the boat you see a beautiful organism moving on the sea
floor. Upon further inspection you notice it has radial symmetry and an
endoskeleton. What phyla does this animal belong to?
Phylum
Identifying characteristics
3 more characteristics
4. A patient arrives at the hospital with an intestinal parasite. After investigating
you discover that this parasite is a psuedocoelomate. What phyla does this
animal belong to?
Phylum
Identifying characteristics
3 more characteristics
5. An animal you examined in Biology class has cells that are organized into
tissues, but not organ systems. This animal has a gastrovascular cavity and you
diagram it below. It is noticeably flat. What phyla does this animal belong to?
Phylum
Identifying characteristics
3 more characteristics
6. You were out on the trails and CRUNCH! You accidentally stepped on an
organism with an exoskeleton. You can see that it had many many legs. What
phyla does this animal belong to?
Phylum
Identifying characteristics
3 more characteristics
7.
After hiking through the jungle and crossing many swampy muddy streams,
you look down at your leg. There is a dark brown, slimy, segmented organism
attached to your leg. There is a little blood trickling down your leg too! What
phylum does this animal belong to?
Phylum
Identifying characteristics
3 more characteristics
8. You and your friend are surfing at the coast and your friend frantically starts
screaming and swims for shore. She gets out of the water and she has red
stripes on her legs. They sting and burn and upon closer inspection you can see
thin tentacles wrapped around her leg. What stung her? What phyla does this
animal belong to?
Phylum
Identifying characteristics
3 more characteristics
Name_______________________________
Unit 8: Invertebrate Writing Assignment
_____________/100 points
On Monday, May 20th (A-day) and Tuesday, May 21st (B-day) Biology students
will conduct an in-class timed writing assignment. For this assignment students
will be expected to use their class notes, lab activities, and the Phylum “super
notes.” The assignment will consist of two sections.
Section 1: Who Am I? ____________/40 points
In this section, students will get a description of several invertebrate animals, and
be expected to identify which Phylum the animal belongs to using their notes. You
will classify the organism according to the Phylum it belongs to, and note the
characteristics that are specific to that particular group of animals.
Section 2: In-Class timed Essay on Evolutionary Trends _________/60 points
Below are the essay prompts. These will be the EXACT prompts that you see in
class. You can prepare your notes accordingly and will be given a limited amount
of time in class to respond to BOTH questions.
Part ONE: Worms can reveal the complexity of evolutionary change in
invertebrates. We looked at primitive flatworms (Platyhelminthes) and
complex earthworms (Annelida) in class. If we analyze the basic body
plans of invertebrate animals, we find that they illustrate evolutionary trends.
Describe at least three differences and three similarities in the body plan
of segmented worms in comparison to flatworms.
PART TWO: Consider the four Phyla: Porifera, Cnidaria, Mollusca and
Arthropoda. Describe these four Phyla in order from simplest to most
complex and identify those features that distinguish the more complex
Phylum from the previous group. Your response should be structured in
complete sentences, not a bulleted list.