1 Name Date When you put food away in the kitchen, you sort the food into groups. You put foods that are alike in certain ways into the same group. Scientists do the same thing with animals, plants and other living things.
Classifying Organisms 2 Scientist classify things in nature. Classify- means to sort things into groups according to their features or characteristics. Scientist classify non-living things and living things. Classifying helps scientist understand how living things are related to each other. 3 ways to classify organisms: 1.Producers: living things that make their own food. 2.Consumers: A living thing that eats other living things to get energy. All animals are consumers. 3.Decomposer: breaks down the remains of dead organisms to feed on them. Mushrooms and fungi. Another way scientist sort large groups of organisms is to classify them into groups with and without backbones. A backbone is a row of connected bones down the middle of the back. These bones are called vertebrate. Vertebrates are animals that have backbones. Invertebrates are animals without backbones.
Vertebrates: 3 1. Fish Live in water Breathe with gills Have scales and fins to help swim. Reproduce by laying eggs. Examples: tuna, perch, trout and carp. 2. Amphibians Spend part of their lives in water and part on land. Young have gills and breathe underwater. Then they change form and develop lungs. Adults breathe air and can live on land. Smooth, moist skin Most lay eggs Examples: frogs, toads, newts and salamanders
3. Reptiles 4 Have lungs and scales Reproduce by laying eggs Examples: snakes, lizards, turtles, alligators and crocodiles. Most fish, amphibians and reptiles have body temperatures that change with their surroundings. When the water or air gets cooler, their bodies cool off too. Reptiles lie in sunlight to warm their bodies. They use shade to cool off. 4. Birds Have feathers Beak, two feet and two wings Most can fly, some can t Feed their young until they can find good on their own. Keep a constant body temperature.
5. Mammals 5 Have hair or fur Breathe through lungs Grow inside mother s body, fed milk from mother s body Keep a constant body temperature Examples: whales, bears, cats, dogs, and humans Invertebrates 95% of all animals are invertebrates- they do not have a backbone. Examples: Spiders, lobsters, sponges, sea stars, and snails. Some have a hard covering or shell o Spiders, insects, crabs, snails, clams Other invertebrates, such as squid, jellyfish and earthworms, do not have a hard covering.
Vocabulary Words to Know 6 1. Classify- to sort things into groups according to their characteristics. 2. Organism- a living thing 3. Producer- a living thing that makes its own food. 4. Consumer- a living thing that eats other living things to get energy. 5. Decomposer- a living thing that breaks down the remains of dead organisms to feed on them. 6. Backbone- a row of connected bones down the middle of the back. 7. Vertebrate- an animal that has a backbone.
8. Invertebrate- an animal that does not have a backbone. 9. Fish-a vertebrate that lives in water and breathes with gill. Most have scales and fins. 10. Reproduce- to make more of one s own kind. 11. Amphibian- a vertebrate that lives part of its life in water and part on land. 12. Reptile- a vertebrate that breathes air and has scales or plates on its skin. 13. Bird-a vertebrate that breathes air, has wings and feathers, and lays eggs. 14. Mammal- a vertebrate that has hair or fur and feeds its young with milk from the mother s body. 7
8 Vertebrates Invertebrates
9 Copy and paste each into the correct category on page 10
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