Science:
Animals
Describing animals
Find the meaning of these words. Match the words with the pictures.
Animal groups
Match each group with the correct description.
Can you think of an example of each group of animals? For example: A frog is an amphibian.
vertebrates
dog, fish, bird ...
mammals
human, cat, dolphin ...
reptiles
snake, crocodile ...
fish
tuna, shark ...
invertebrates
spider, insect, snail ...
amphibians
frog ...
birds
chicken, penguin ...
insects
mosquito, fly ...
Animals and the five senses
Read the descriptions, then say if sentences 1–9 are true or false.
Sight
Many animals have better eyesight than humans. The golden eagle’s eyesight is eight times stronger than a human’s. It can see a rabbit 3.2 kilometres away. Cats can see six times better than we can in the dark.
Smell
Some animals have an amazing sense of smell. A polar bear can smell a seal that is over a kilometre away and under a metre of snow! The insect with the best sense of smell is the male silkworm moth. It can locate a female 11 kilometres away.
Hearing
A lot of animals can hear much better than we can. An elephant can hear the call of another elephant 1.5 kilometres away, and it can identify the elephant. Dolphins use their ears to ‘see’ under water. They can locate objects by making sounds and then listening for the echo. The echo shows them the location and the size of the object.
Taste
We use our tongues to taste things. But our sense of taste isn’t the same as a snake’s. A snake uses its tongue to taste the air and then it changes the taste into a smell. This helps it to find food.
Touch
We usually use our fingers to touch and feel things. A catfish uses its whole body to feel vibrations in the water. Scientists think that this fish can ‘feel’ an earthquake several days before humans can detect it.
Do you know any other interesting facts about animals’ senses?