Animals and Plants (On Grade)_02

Kelly is lying on her bed, looking through the pictures in her mother’s Science book left in her room. Kelly’s mother is going back to school at the local university to earn a degree in Biology. During the day, she often uses Kelly’s room to study. Sometimes she forgets and leaves her books by the chair where she sits to read.

“EEEWW!” Kelly shouted as she looked at the close-up image of the insect in her Science book. Kelly thinks to herself, “How can different organisms be so remarkably different and some so ugly?” As she flips through the pages of different organisms she starts to think about the plants and animals she is acquainted with. “How are they similar and different?”

Kelly looks down at her dog who is sound asleep next to her bed. She thinks to herself, “Dogs are not as similar to humans as maybe a chimpanzee, but they still have many shared traits.” For example: They are vertebrates, have hair, and give live birth. One big difference is dogs have paws and not hands. Unlike a human or a chimpanzee, they cannot grasp objects. Another difference is dogs do not sweat to control their body temperature. Instead, a dog pants, or breathes hard, to control its temperature.

Kelly flips through a few more pages and sees a picture of a bear in hibernation. “Ah!” she thinks to herself, “I remember learning how bears hibernate in the winter in northern areas.” They do this to conserve energy when food sources are scarce. By hibernating, bears can lower their metabolism, making it possible for them to survive for months without eating. While Kelly’s dog sort of looks like a big bear and has been known to sleep a lot, he certainly never misses a meal!