Animal & Plant Classification

Biologists use various traits to classify living things. Which of the following would be least useful in a classification scheme for mammals?

• digestive systems

• shape of teeth

• color of hair

• skeleton bones

What do all invertebrates have in common?

• They do not have a backbone.

• They are warm-blooded.

• They have more than six legs.

• They give birth to live young.

Which information should a student include in a model that will best help her classify an organism?

• how quickly the organism moves

• if the organism has a backbone

• the size of the organism

• where the organism was found

Which describes a mammal?

• a warm-blooded animal that supplies its young with milk

• a cold blooded animal that lives on land

• a feathered animal that lays eggs

• an animal with scales that lives in the water

The pine cone is most similar to...

• a stem because they both support

• leaves because they both change sunlight into energy

• a flower because they both are used for reproduction

• roots because they both collect nutrients

Which question can be asked to determine what is an acquired physical trait of a tiger?

• Why does the tiger have stripes?

• How did the tiger get scars on its face?

• How much did the tiger weigh at birth?

• Why does the tiger have a tail?

When turtle eggs hatch, the babies know to go to the water. This is an example of...

• hibernation

• instinct

• camouflage

• learned behavior

Ferns lack flowers and seeds, yet are able to reproduce. What is the first stage of the life cycle of ferns?

• spore

• adult

• bud

• sprout

Which of the following organisms lack vascular tissue?

• whisk ferns

• flowering plants

• pine trees

• mosses

Mrs. Maga is creating a model to classify organisms. Which three factors should she add to her model to classify vertebrate animals?

• what their body is covered with

• what they eat

• where they can be found

• how they breathe

• how their body temperature is controlled