Animals

Study Guide

TEST DATE: ______

Extinct / A species that is gone forever because all of its kind have died

Endangered /

In danger of becoming extinct


Threatened

/ On the way to becoming endangered or extinct

Species / A name that identifies a living organism

Mammal

/ An animal that has fur or hair, breathes with lungs, gives live birth and is fed milk from its mother

Reptile / A land animal that has dry skin covered by scales

Bird

/ An animal that has feathers, two legs and wings

Fish

/ An animal that lives its whole life in the water and breathes with gills

Amphibian / An animal that begins life in the water and moves to the land as an adult

Gills / A body part found in fish and young amphibians that takes oxygen from the water

Scales / The small, thin, flat plates that help protect the bodies of fish and reptiles

Cell

/ The small unit that makes up all living things

Inherit

/ To receive traits from your parents

Trait

/ A body feature that an animal inherits; it can also be something that an animal does

Fossil / Evidence of a plant or animal that lived on Earth long ago

Instinct

/ A behavior an animal knows how to do without being taught

Hibernate / To enter a deep sleep in which life activities slow down

Migrate

/ To travel as a group from one place to live in another

Mimicry / The imitation by one animal of another or an object in order to avoid predators

Camouflage / A natural disguise some animals have to help them blend in with their surroundings
Interact / When plants and animals affect one another or the environment to meet their needs

Food Chain / The path of food from one living thing to another

Food Web / A model that shows how food chains overlap

Energy Pyramid / A diagram that shows that the amount of useable energy in an ecosystem is less for each higher animal in the food chain

Predator / An animal that hunts another animal for food

Prey

/ An animal that is hunted by a predator

Producer / A living thing that makes its own food

Consumer / A living thing that eats other living things as food

Decomposer / A living thing that breaks down dead organisms for food

Herbivore / An animal that eats plants

Omnivore

/ An animal that eats both plants and animals

Carnivore / An animal that eats other animals

Be able to:

  • Use all the terminology correctly
  • Identify the characteristics of each type of animal and sort examples correctly
  • Diagram a food chain
  • Identify and explain ways animals have adapted to their environment
  • Explain adaptations omnivores (slated eyes, mix of teeth), carnivores (eyes in front of head, sharp/pointed teeth), and herbivores (eyes on side of head, flat teeth) have made to accommodate their diet
  • Explain how animals and plants are interdependent on each other (What would happen to a food chain if you removed an animal? Why?)