Brain Processes and Senses
What do animals need to survive?
Animals need to eat, find safe places to live, reproduce and have offspring, and survive attacks from predators.
Name an external structure.
fur, fingers, scales, tentacles, (any structure on the outside of the body)
What is a group behavior?
Things that animals do with other animals that help them survive. Common examples include crowding together to protect from predators, flying with other birds to reduce wind resistance and working together to build a home like ants do.
What is an adaptation? Give an example
An adaptation is a characteristic of a living thing that helps it survive in its environment.
*answers may vary*
What is an ecosystem?
An ecosystem is a community of interacting organisms and their environment. Living things interact with each other, and also with non-living things like soil, water and air.
Do animals use their senses the same as humans? Provide an example.
Not all the time. A snake uses its tongue to smell. A catfish uses its whole body to smell. Dogs have heighten smell. Termites are blind so they use their smell to get around.
Name an internal structure.
heart, lungs, brain, (any organ)
Why would animals choose to work together rather than compete against each other?
when animals work together, they can hunt for food easier. on the other hand, when animals work together, they can escape from being food easier.
Why is a giraffe's tongue an adaptation?
Giraffe’s long tongues help them obtain food in the wild, which are leaves from very tall and thorny plants. Their long tongues help them bend back the thorns to pull the leaves off without getting pricked by the thorns.
What does a plant or animal need to survive in their ecosystem?
All the specific needs of a plant or animal must be met if it is going to survive in an ecosystem. These needs include food, shelter, temperature, water and air. Plants also need sunlight and the right soil conditions.
What are our 5 senses and how do we use them?
taste, touch, smell, hearing, sight
*answers may vary*
How do different plant and animal structures help them survive?
Animals and plants have structures that serve different functions and help them live, grow and reproduce. For example, claws are an external structure that can help an animal climb trees and defend itself.
What is a predator? What is a prey? Give one example of each.
a predator is an animal that hunts other animals for food. A prey is the animal that gets hunted to be food. Examples include lions as a predator and zebras as a prey.
What are opposable thumbs?
Human thumbs are called opposable thumbs. We can move our thumbs around to touch other fingers and grasp things. Animals like a dog cannot do this.
What are some components of a forest ecosystems?
in a forest, you have trees that provide shelter and food for animals. There is moss and other plants on the ground that animals eat and insects build there homes near or under.
What is the role of the brain in helping an animal interact with its environment?
the brain controls all movements in the body and controls what the body does on the outside.
Name a structure a plant can have to help them survive.
Cactus has spikes to help protect them from animals eating them.
What are some examples of human group behaviors?
Humans huddle in groups for warmth, work together to build homes, and rescue other people in danger. Humans even practice group behavior similar to geese by riding bicycles behind one another to lessen wind resistance.
If a hummingbird hunted like an eagle, would its beak be useful? Explain.
no. A hummingbird has a straw like beak and it is used for drinking liquid. If a hummingbird hunted food an eagle hunts, they would not be able to eat it.
What an example of a nonliving thing? What is an example of a living thing?
nonliving things like soil, rocks, water
living things like plants and animals
Why is gathering information from the environment important to animals?
when animals gather information from their environment, they are more likely to be successful in catching prey to eat to escaping predators to survive.
What is the function of the coloring of butterfly wings?
Some butterfly wings are colored to look exactly like a leaf, which camouflages it and protects it from predators.
Describe two different animal group behaviors and explain how it helps the animals survive.
*answers may vary*
How does camouflage help lions and sloths survive in different ways?
Lions use camouflage to blend in with the grass to sneak up on prey.
A sloth uses camouflage to blend in with the trees they live in to prevent being seen by predators. They can also grow algae on their backs to help them blend in better.
Describe how humans can both hurt and help ecosystems.
*answers may vary*