Our current unit of study, Living Systems begins with the study of cells. We will be spending the first several classes examining the parts of animal and plant cells and comparing and contrasting the two. 5.5 The student will investigate and understand that organisms are made of one or more cells and have distinguishing characteristics that play a vital role in the organism’s ability to survive and thrive in its environment. Key concepts include a) basic cell structures and functions; (Cell membrane, nucleus, vacuoles, cytoplasm plus cell wall and chloroplasts for plants) b) classification of organisms using physical characteristics, body structures, and behavior of the organism; and c) traits of organisms that allow them to survive in their environment. We began the unit by discussing Cell Theory and how biologists (and all scientists) build on each others' ideas. The class enjoyed the video so much I decided to post it here.
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Animals are classified into two major groups- vertebrates and invertebrates. A vertebrate is an animal that has a backbone to provide its body support. An invertebrate is an animal that does NOT have a backbone (makes sense, since it has the prefix "in-" at the beginning of it!). Here is some more information about these two groups.
VERTEBRATES Vertebrates can be quite small or extremely large or tall since they have a backbone to help support them. Remember in class when we made a worm and giraffe out of clay? We found how impossible it was to make a vertebrate stand upright without the skeletal structure and spine to hold its neck up! This activity helped to show how a backbone, or spinal column, helps some vertebrates to grow as large as a giraffe, or whale!!! Vertebrates can be classified into five smaller groups based on common characteristics: mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, and reptiles.
Bill Nye: Amphibians Bill Nye: Birds Bill Nye: Reptiles Bill Nye: Fish A special note about SNAKES! Many people mistakenly believe that a snake is an invertebrate because it is kind of shaped like a worm. THIS IS FALSE! Just remember that reptiles are vertebrates and that a snake is a reptile, so therefore a snake is a vertebrate. Here are some pictures, too, to help you see that a snake has a bone structure. Without it, the snake wouldn't be able to "stand" as it is doing in the picture below. INVERTEBRATES In class, we've talked a lot about affixes, including the prefix in-. When added to the word vertebrate, knowing the prefix in- can mean "not" helps us to understand that invertebrates do NOT have a backbone. Invertebrates make up the largest population of animals on earth- some have estimated that as many as 96% of all animal species on earth are invertebrates! Bill Nye: Invertebrates video |