Comparing Plant and Animal Structures

Compare the human body to an oak tree. A human’s skin is most like which part of an oak tree?

• Acorn

• Bark

• Leaf

• Root

Answer explanation

Bark protects the inside of the tree similar to the way skin protects the inside of the human body.

The waxy leaves on some trees help keep water inside the leaves. Which body part performs a similar function?

• Ears

• Eyes

• Tongue

• Skin

Answer explanation

One of the functions of skin is to keep water inside the body, to prevent dehydration.

Animals have body coverings, such as skin, that protect them. This protective layer can be used to protect the animal from extreme temperatures, or to help it blend in with its environment to avoid predators. Look at the body coverings of these animals. Which animal has a body covering that will best protect it from bites and scratches during an attack by a predator?

• 
• 
• 
• 

A Venus flytrap has trigger hairs that can sense when an insect lands on its lobes, or leaves. Which statement best explains how this differs from the sense of touch in animals?

• Animals do not have hairs that can sense things.

• Animals also use sensory hairs to taste the food as well.

• The Venus’ flytrap does not have a brain to process the information.

• Most animals do not use their sense of touch to catch food.

Answer explanation

An animal’s sense of touch includes the brain. The brain is what processes the information from the cells that sense the touch.

Florida’s state flower is the orange blossom. All of the following features are important to this flower. Which feature most likely helps protect it from damage?

• The edible fruit

• Fragrant blossoms

• Tough covering on the petals

• Oranges still on the tree when new blossoms appear

Plants and animals have highly organized systems. Which of these shows the level of complexity, from simplest to most complex?

• Organism - Organs - Organ systems

• Organs - Organ systems - Organism

• Organ systems - Organism - Organs

• Organs - Organism - Organ systems

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-3

The flower is a plant reproductive structure. What is the main role of a plant’s flower?

• To produce food

• To produce seeds

• To produce water

• To provide support

Plants take in carbon dioxide, which they use to make sugars. The process produces oxygen, which plants release. This gas exchange takes place in the leaves of plants. Humans take in oxygen and produce carbon dioxide as waste. Which human organ is like the leaves of a plant in terms of gas exchange?

• Brain

• Heart

• Lung

• Skin

Answer explanation

The lungs take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide.

Insects have a hard outer covering called an exoskeletons. Which process is the function of an insect's exoskeleton and a human's skeletal system?

• Gas exchange

• Structural support

• Removal of waste

• Temperature control

Answer explanation

Both a human's endoskeleton and an insect's exoskeleton support and protect each animal's body and body parts.

The picture shows how plant tissues carry water and nutrients throughout a plant. Which human body system is similar to this plant vascular system?

• Circulatory system

• Muscular system

• Respiratory system

• Skeletal system

Answer explanation

The circulatory system in humans and the vascular system in plants carry nutrients throughout the organisms.