content.njctl.orgcontent.njctl.org/courses/science/3rd-grade-science/... · Web view2015/11/09 · Life Cycles ClassworkName: _____ Classwork #1 3rd Grade PSI The Venus flytrap is

Life Cycles Classwork Name: __________________________Classwork #1

3rd Grade PSI

The Venus flytrap is a very

interesting plant. Most plants get

nutrition by photosynthesis, using

energy from the sun to make their

own food. While the green stalks

of the Venus flytrap carry out

photosynthesis, they also have

another method of getting

nutrition. They eat insects!

As seen in the photo above, the Venus flytrap has leaves

that are open to the surrounding environment. Each of these

leaves are lined in hairs. When an insect walks across the top of a

leaf, it moves the hairs. This triggers the Venus flytrap to quickly

close its leaves, catching the insect inside. Once an insect is

caught inside, it will take the plant between five to twelve days to

break down and absorb the nutrients from the insect.

The Venus flytrap plant begins life as a small, black seed.

Once the seed sprouts, it takes about five years to grow into an

adult plant that produces white flowers and the black seeds that

will lead to new plants.

www.njctl.org 3rd Grade PSI Growth & Development of Organisms

Using the information on the previous page, describe how the Venus flytrap meets all of the characteristics of a living thing.

1. Eat/Use Energy

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2. Grow/Develop

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3. Reproduce

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4. Interact with environment

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Life Cycles Homework Name: __________________________Homework #1

3rd Grade PSI

The red wolf is an animal that is native to North America and

is related to foxes, coyotes and the domestic dog. They are

usually covered in brown and tan fur with tints of red around the

ears, head and legs. Adults can grow to be four feet long and

weigh between 53 to 84 pounds.

Red wolves are social animals. They live together in packs

of five to eight wolves. The packs are very similar to human

families. The pack consists of one older male and one older

female and several younger wolves. When red wolves reach one

to two years of age, they break off of the pack and form their own

pack.

In the 1960s, the red wolf population was very low, due to

hunting and the destruction of their habitat. In 1973, the red wolf

became an endangered species. They were dying faster than

they were reproducing. The remaining 17 red wolves were


captured and placed into a captive breeding program in order to

try to increase their population. The captive breeding program

ensured that the red wolves were protected so that reproduction

would be greater than deaths. When births are greater than

deaths in a population, the population increases in size.

Several zoos and organizations around the United States

agreed to participate in the captive breeding program. By 1984,

the red wolf population had increased to 63. In 1987, a majority of

the red wolf population was released onto Alligator River National

Wildlife Refuge in eastern North Carolina. This is a protected area

of land where the red wolves can live in the wild. There are

currently between 50 and 75 red wolves in the wild, with an

additional 200 red wolves still in captive breeding programs

across the United States.

By working together and understanding the science involved

in life cycles, organizations played an essential role in bringing the

red wolf back from the brink of extinction.


1. Describe the stages of the life cycle of the red wolf.

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2. The captive breeding program focused on what stage of the life cycle?

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3. Why is this an important stage for all living things?

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4. When the red wolves were first captured in the wild, there were only 17 of them. Now, there are as many as 75 in the wild. By how much did the wild population increase?

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Plant Life Cycles I Classwork Name: __________________________Classwork #2

3rd Grade PSI

1. Both of the pictures above show different parts of an apple tree. What are two structures shown that are evidence that these are adult apple trees?

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2. How would a young apple tree differ from an adult tree?

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3. If you plant an apple seed, it will eventually germinate. What do you call the new plant that emerges from the seed?

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Plant Life Cycles I Homework Name: __________________________Homework #2

3rd Grade PSI

A chestnut seed is a fruit that is surrounded by a spiky covering,

called a burr. The burr helps to protect the seed. When the burr

falls to the ground, it breaks open, revealing the seed inside. The

chestnut seed does not have a large amount of food stored inside

of it. As a result, the embryo must germinate quickly in order to

survive.

The avocado is a fruit that contains one large seed on the inside.

The avocado seed takes a long time to germinate. When supplied

with plenty of water, roots and leaves will not emerge for 4-6

weeks.


1. Why does the chestnut seed need to germinate quickly?

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2. The avocado seed takes a long time to germinate. What does this tell you about the amount of food stored inside the seed for the embryo?

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3. What is one similarity between the chestnut and the avocado?

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4. What is one difference between the chestnut and the avocado?

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5. Both seeds have a seed coat. What is the purpose of the seed coat?

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Plant Life Cycles II Classwork Name: __________________________Classwork #3

3rd Grade PSI

Put the steps of plant reproduction in order by placing a number on the line in front of each step. Number 1 is done for you. Draw pictures of each step in the boxes below.

_____ A seed is created.

_____ Bright petals attract pollinators.

_____ The seed germinates and grows into an adult plant.

_____ Pollen from the stamens rubs off on the pollinator.

_____ The pollinator moves to another flower where pollen is dropped onto the pistil.

_____ The seed falls to the ground and becomes buried.


1

Plant Life Cycles II Homework Name: __________________________Homework #3

3rd Grade PSI

1. Label the parts of the flower below.

2. In what structure is pollen formed? ____________________

3. What structure creates the seed? ____________________

4. What needs to happen in order for a seed to be created?

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5. Why are petals often brightly colored?

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6. What role do pollinators play in plant reproduction?

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7.


Animal Life Cycles Classwork Name: __________________________Classwork #4

3rd Grade PSI

Salmon eggs Adult salmon

Salmon are saltwater fish that lay their eggs in freshwater.

Salmon spend about five years in the ocean before swimming into

freshwater to lay eggs. The female uses her tail to create a gravel

nest on the bottom of freshwater streams. A female can create up

to seven nests, with each nest containing 5,000 eggs!

Salmon eggs are usually laid in the summer. They develop

throughout winter and hatch in the spring. After laying eggs, the

adult fish usually die. The baby salmon are left to develop on their

own.


Elephant babies develop inside of their mother’s bodies. It

takes about 22 months for a baby elephant to develop fully inside

of the mother. After this amount of time, the baby elephant is

born. Usually, only one baby is born at a time. The entire herd will

help and protect the baby. A baby elephant relies on the mother

for nutrition for up to three years.

1. If you look closely at the picture of the salmon eggs, you can see the yolks. What is the purpose of the yolk?

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2. Salmon eggs are laid in water. What type of egg shell do you think they have: hard shell, leathery shell or no shell?

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3. A female salmon can lay 5,000 eggs per nest and up to 7 nests. Use your calculator to determine how many eggs she can lay.

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4. What is one similarity between the salmon and elephant life cycles?

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5. What is one difference between the salmon and elephant life cycles?

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Animal Life Cycles Homework Name: __________________________Homework #4

3rd Grade PSI

Honeybees are insects that hatch from eggs. From the time the

queen bee lays an egg, it takes 21 days for the egg to hatch and

the bee to develop into an adult.

First, the queen bee lays eggs. There is one egg in each cell of

the honeycomb. After three days, the egg hatches and a bee

larva emerges. The larva remains curled inside of the

honeycomb, being fed by worker bees.

After 5 days, the larva’s cell is sealed off with wax. The larva

spins a cocoon around itself and becomes a pupa. For the next

13 days, the pupa transforms into an adult bee. After 13 days, the

adult bee emerges from the cell.


Eggs

Larva

1. What type of growth pattern does a honeybee have: direct development, complete metamorphosis, or incomplete metamorphosis? How do you know?

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2. What is one similarity and one difference between complete and incomplete metamorphosis?

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3. This cycle takes a total of 21 days. Account for this time by listing the number of days for each part of the transformation.

Stage # of Days

Egg

Larva

Pupa


Answer Key

Life Cycles ClassworkClasswork #1

1. Venus flytraps eat by trapping insects and by making their own food via photosynthesis.

2. Venus flytraps grow from a black seed into an adult plant in five years.3. Venus flytraps reproduce by creating black seeds that grow into new plants.4. Venus flytraps interact with their environment by trapping insects. When an

insect triggers the hairs on the leaves, the flytrap closes around the insect.

Life Cycles HomeworkHomework #1

1. Birth – Red wolves are born into a pack.Growth – Red wolves grow to be 4 feet long and up to 84 pounds.Reproduction – Red wolves reproduce to create more wolves.Death – Red wolves die.

2. Reproduction3. If animals do not reproduce, then there will be no offspring to replace them. The

population will decrease until it goes extinct.4. 75 – 17 = 58

Plant Life Cycles I ClassworkClasswork #2

1. Flowers, fruit2. A young apple tree will look similar to the adult tree except that it will have

smaller leaves and it will not have flowers or fruit.3. Seedling

Plant Life Cycles I HomeworkHomework #2

1. The chestnut seed does not contain a large amount of food for the embryo.2. The avocado has a large amount of food for the embryo.3. Answers will vary.4. Answers will vary.5. The seed coat protects the seed.

Plant Life Cycles II ClassworkClasswork #3

1. Bright petals attract pollinators.2. Pollen from the stamens rubs off on the pollinator.3. The pollinator moves to another flower where pollen is dropped on the pistil.4. A seed is created.5. The seed falls to the ground and becomes buried.6. The seed germinates and grows into an adult plant.


Plant Life Cycles II HomeworkHomework #3

1.

2. Stamen3. Pistil4. The pollen from one flower needs to be dropped onto the pistil of another flower.

Then a seed can be made.5. Bright petals attract pollinators. 6. Pollinators are important because they transfer pollen from one flower to another.

This is necessary for seeds to be created.

Animal Life Cycles ClassworkClasswork #4

1. The yolk provides nutrition for the developing embryo.2. The egg has no shell. Because the egg is laid in water, the water is able to

protect the shell.3. 5,000 x 7 = 35,000 eggs4. Answers will vary.5. Answers will vary.

Animal Life Cycles Homework Homework #4

1. This is complete metamorphosis. The young bee looks nothing like the adult. This means it is metamorphosis. The change includes the pupa stage, which makes it a complete metamorphosis.

2. Answers may vary slightly. Both involve physical changes between the young insect and the adult insect. In incomplete metamorphosis, there are only three stages (egg, larva and adult). In complete metamorphosis, the insect goes through a dormant pupa stage, so there are four stages (egg, larva, pupa and adult).

3.


__________

__________

__________Pistil

Petal

Stamen

Stage # of Days

Egg 3

Larva 5

Pupa 13

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content.njctl.orgcontent.njctl.org/courses/science/3rd-grade-science/... · Web view2015/11/09 · Life Cycles ClassworkName: _____ Classwork #1 3rd Grade PSI The Venus flytrap is