Life Science

The scientific study of all things living – even one-celled organisms.

Futuristic Animal

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This is a lesson in adaptations

The story:

A time machine has recently been invented. The MatterMasters Organism Research Institution has decided that it will use the time machine to send a group of animal research scientists millions of years in the future to observe the animal and plant life on Earth at this time.

When you arrive, you find that most of the animals and plants that you know from the present have all disappeared! BUT there are all sorts of new species living in place of the ones you know.

Your assignment is to observe, draw, and analyze one of the animals.

Your job is to report back to MMORI. Your report must include:

  • An image (drawn or created)
  • A description of what the animal looks like and what animal group it belongs to.
  • What animal it is most closely related to.
  • A scientific and common name for the animal.
  • Describe 4+ different adaptations the animal has (structure or behavior)
  • Describe the environment it lives in.
  • What does the animal eat?

To help with the creation of the animal, here is a website to try out:

Switcheroo Zoo

To create your project, we will be using Weebly.com. Weebly is a webpage making online site. Before going to Weebly, you need to have your animal name ready because you are going to use it to name the website.

I will give you your username and password, AFTER you have filled out your Animal Adaptation graphic organizer.

Some notes to help you:

Adaptations

An adaptation is a part on the body of the animal OR it is a behavior (something it does) that helps it survive. Some examples would be:

  • webbed feet on a duck help it swim
  • pincers on a crayfish help it defend itself
  • shells on a snail help them to protect their body
  • prehensile tail helps a monkey to grap a hold of branches in trees
  • an opposible thumb on a person or primate helps them to pick up things with their hands

Scientific Names

Scientific Names are names that scientists use to categorize and name animals. Go to the San Diego Zoo Animal Bytes page to see examples.

Possible vs. Improbable

Make your animal as POSSIBLE as you can. This means that the animal should NOT be a combination of different types of animals. For example it is IMPROBABLY (not likely) that an animal would evolve from a combination of reptile and mammal and insect. They are TOO different from each other and are not in the same animal groups. STAY WITHIN THE SAME ANIMAL GROUP!! So, mammals, reptiles & birds, fish, amphibians, insects, arachnids, crustaceans (crabs, shrimp, crayfish), mollusks (octopus, squid, clams, oysters), echinoderm (sea star, sea urchin), etc…..

 

Vertebrates and Invertebrates

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Last week we learned about vertebrates. What is a vertebrate?

A vertebrate is an animal that has a backbone.

So if there is a group of animals called vertebrates, then there is name for the group of animals that do NOT have backbones. These are called INVERTEBRATES.

Let’s investigate more about VERTEBRATES and INVERTEBRATES.

Here are some links that talk about animal classification…or how scientists group animals together.

Here are some videos on United Streaming.

Animal Classification
What is a Living Thing