| Answer Key Animal Classification | |
| 1. How would you classify the food in your refrigerator at home? | |
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Answer: Students will offer a variety of descriptions. Encourage students to describe the different types and groups of foods. Also, students should list what foods are placed on the shelves versus the side door panels and the bottom drawers.
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| 2. Why do you think it is important to organize animals into groups? | |
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Answer: Students should indicate that by categorizing animals, we can better study them, track them, and observe their behaviors. There are many species that we still have not yet discovered, by classifying animals based on a set of universally agreed upon characteristics; scientists can continue to identify new organisms.
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| 3. There are seven parts to the classification of each animal. To help you remember the seven group names, create your own memory device. | |
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Answer: Students will create their own mnemonic sentence that includes the first letter of the seven groups in order. An example might be “Kind People Can Operate Fun Game Stores.
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| 4. We humans have backbones which makes us vertebrates. Provide ten examples of other vertebrates. How do you know that they are vertebrates? | |
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Answer: Students should list ten animals that are vertebrates and can list their backbones or spinal cords as a reason for including them in the vertebrate list.
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| 5. Organisms without backbones take on a variety of unique shapes. In fact, there are many more invertebrates than there are vertebrates. Provide ten examples of invertebrates. How do you know that they are invertebrates? | |
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Answer: Students should list ten animals that are invertebrates and can list the lack of backbones or spinal cords as a reason for including them in the invertebrate list.
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| 6. Describe the Atlas Beetle\'s physical characteristics. How do you think it defends itself? | |
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Answer: Students should describe the beetle\'s harder outer skeleton, or exoskeleton, its jointed legs with spikes and claw-like feet. Students should note the sharp pointy extensions on the beetle\'s legs and it pinchers.
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| 7. Did you make it all the way to one million dollars? Which classification question did you find to be difficult? | |
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Answer: Students will most likely explain that initial questions were easier to answer than progressive questions. Students should share the question and correct answer that they had difficulty answering.
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| 8. Why do some animals build their homes in trees and some dig holes in the ground to live in? | |
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Answer: Answers will vary, but students should note that the animals that can easily climb up or fly to the high branches of trees have a better chance of living there; likewise, animals that can not climb trees easily dig holes in the ground for shelter and safety.
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| 9. Describe the environment in which you live. What types of trees and plants do you see? What is the weather like? What kinds of animals live in your environment? How do you adapt to your environment? | |
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Answer: Students will offer a variety of responses based upon their environment. Students should describe the types of trees and whether their climate allows for green plants year round or seasonally only. There may be specific animals that are indigenous to certain regions such as armadillos in Texas or prairie dogs in New Mexico or herons and egrets in Florida.
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| 10. List some ways in which we can protect endangered species. | |
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Answer: We can protect endangered species by restrict hunting and fishing, forbid poaching and ranching, stop the transport and selling of these animals, support recovery programs, join and/or make donations to endangered species support organizations.
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| 11. Describe how the insect is more “successful” than a human. | |
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Answer: Insects eat anything, can live anywhere, can survive environmental trauma, have exoskeletons that they replenish, and already contain the largest number of species.
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