ORGANISMS & THEIR ENVIRONMENTS

1. GRADE 4 SCIENCE ORGANISMS & THEIR ENVIRONMENTS

2. STANDARDS • 4-2.1 = Classify organisms into major groups (including plants or animals, flowering or nonflowering plants, and vertebrates [fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals] or invertebrates) according to their physical characteristics. • 4-2.2 = Explain how the characteristics of distinct environments (including swamps, rivers and streams, tropical rain forests, deserts, and the polar regions) influence the variety of organisms in each.

3. TYPES OF ORGANISMS • VERTABRATES (BACK BONES) • FISH • AMPHIBIANS • REPTILES • BIRDS • MAMMALS • PLANTS • FLOWERS • TREES

4. TYPES OF FISH: • SaLtWaTeR: lives in oceans. • Usually a bright, colorful color. • FrEsHWaTeR: lives in lakes, rivers, ponds, or streams. • Usually a dull color.

5. TYPES OF AMPHIBIANS: • They are vertebrates that spend part of their lives under water (breathing with gills) and the remainder on land (breathing with lungs). They are cold-blooded; their body temperature depends on the temperature of their environment. • Anura • Ex: frogs (slimy and live in places) & toads (dry and live in mild or humid places) • Caudata • Ex: salamanders (slimy and colorful) & newts (dry and usually dull) • Gymnophiona • Ex: caecilians (slimy, snake like)

6. TYPES OF REPTILES: • Reptiles are cold blooded animals that mostly lay shelled eggs and have scaled skin. They typically live in mild or hot climates because they’re body does not give off heat like ours, so they need the extra from the land they live. • Crocodilia = crocodiles, gavials, caimans, & alligators; there are 23 species. • Sphenodontia = tuataras; there are only 2 species. • Squamata = lizards, snakes, & worm lizards; there are approximately 7,900 species. • Testudines = turtles & tortoises; there are approximately 300 species.

7. TYPES OF BIRDS: • Birds are warm-blooded, feathered animals with wings and the ability to lay hard shelled eggs; they range from 2 inches (humming bee), to 9 feet (ostrich). There are around 10,000 living species that live everywhere from the Arctic to the Antarctic; some are able to live in cold climates because they have extra feathers and skin to keep them warm, while others are able to live in extreme heat with less.

8. TYPES OF MAMMALS: • They are warm-blooded animals that possess hair, specialized teeth, sweat glands, and normally give live birth, with the exception of a few; they range in size from the 1- to 1.5-inch Bumblebee Bat to the 108 foot Blue Whale. There are different types; marsupials(born in a pouch), monotremes(egg layers), and placental mammals(born like humans). • There are Carnivores, who eat meat, Herbivores, who eat plants, Omnivores, who eat both plants and meats, & Insectivores, who eat only insects. • There are six main groups: • Rodentia = mice, rats, porcupines, beavers, capybaras, etc • Chiroptera = bats • Soricomorpha = shrews, moles, & solenodons • Carnivora = dogs, cats, weasels, bears, seals, etc • Cetartiodactyla = whales & dolphins • Primates = monkeys, apes, & human

9. PLANTS/FLOWERS/TREES: • Needs = • Soil- provides minerals & nutrients, also anchors the plant & holds water around it. • Sun - uses suns energy to grow and produce food. • Water- allows them to make their own food through photosynthesis • Air -need carbon dioxide that they use in photosynthesis to make carbon compounds. • Space- need space to grow out so that they won’t be crowded and have altered growth. • Correct Temperature- helps with growth and quality.

10. QUIZ: • WHAT COLOR ARE SALT WATER FISH NORMALLY? • THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SALAMANDERS & NEWTS. • LIST THE TYPES OF CROCODILIA. • WHAT IS THE SMALLEST & LARGEST BIRD? • WHAT ARE PLACENTAL MAMMALS? • LIST 2 OF THE MAIN NEEDS FOR PLANTS, FLOWERS, & TREES.