What Is an Animal?

The long neck of a giraffe helps it to find food in tall trees. What term best describes a giraffe's neck?

Adaptation

_________ allow animals to perform their functions.

Adaptations

When you look at a branched diagram that classifies animals, how can you tell how closely related two groups of animals are?

Animal groups on nearby branches are more closely related than groups on branches that are farther apart.

In addition to body structure and development, which of the following is used to classify animals?

DNA

_________ is a chemical in cells that controls an organism's inherited characteristics.

DNA

How do scientists classify animals?

Scientists classify animals according to how they are related to other animals. They determine these relationships by animal's body structure, the way they develop and their DNA.

Give one example of an animal's adaptation to perform their functions.

Teeth and limbs allow animals to get food and move.

vertebrate

animal with a backbone

invertebrate

animal without a backbone

Animals that are more _________ related are grouped on the same branch of a classification tree.

closely

One of the main ________ of an animal is to get food and _________.

functions, oxygen

What are the 4 main functions of an animal?

get food and oxygen, movement, reproduce, keep internal conditions stable.

Which of the following animals is an invertebrate?

grasshopper

Animals perform __________ to keep internal body conditions stable.

homeostasis

homeostasis

keeping internal conditions stable

adaptation

structure or behavior that helps an animal perform its functions

Because it has a backbone, how should a hippopotamus be described?

vertebrate

A vertebrate is an animal _________ a backbone.

with