Download organisms go through a life cycle.

All organisms go through a life cycle.
During a life cycle, an organism is born, grows,
reproduces, and dies. Think about the life cycle
of a flowering plant. It begins with a seed that
starts to become a plant. The plant grows and
gets bigger. It makes flowers. The flowers make
seeds. New plants can grow from the seeds.
At some point, the plant will die.
The life cycle of the plant begins
when the plant starts growing.
Fish begin their life cycle when
they hatch from eggs. Birds and
reptiles hatch from different
kinds of eggs. Many animals
develop inside their mother's
bodies before they are born.
After organisms begin their life
cycles, they grow. Growth means
that an organism gets bigger in
size. Plants grow taller and grow more leaves.
Humans grow bigger into adults.
Sometimes, growth can involve a change of
appearance. For example, caterpillars
undergo a change as they grow. They turn
into butterflies.
Many organisms reproduce once they grow
to be adults. When organisms reproduce,
they make more organisms of the same
type. Fish lay eggs that hatch into new fish.
Tomato plants produce seeds that grow
into new tomato plants.
Discovery Education Science
© 2007 Discovery Communications, LLC
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Life Cycles of Organisms
At the end of an organism's life cycle, it
dies. The length of a life cycle is different
for different organisms. Some insects live
only a few days. Other animals can live for
many years. Some plants live for only one
season. But trees can live to be hundreds of
years old. After an organism dies, its body
breaks down, or decomposes.
Discovery Education Science
© 2007 Discovery Communications, LLC
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