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Life Cycles Classwork
Classwork #1
Name: __________________________
3rd Grade PSI
The Venus flytrap is a very
interesting plant. Most plants get
nutrition by photosynthesis, using
energy from the sun to make their
own food. While the green stalks
of the Venus flytrap carry out
photosynthesis, they also have
another method of getting
nutrition. They eat insects!
As seen in the photo above, the Venus flytrap has leaves
that are open to the surrounding environment. Each of these
leaves are lined in hairs. When an insect walks across the top of a
leaf, it moves the hairs. This triggers the Venus flytrap to quickly
close its leaves, catching the insect inside. Once an insect is
caught inside, it will take the plant between five to twelve days to
break down and absorb the nutrients from the insect.
The Venus flytrap plant begins life as a small, black seed.
Once the seed sprouts, it takes about five years to grow into an
adult plant that produces white flowers and the black seeds that
will lead to new plants.
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3rd Grade PSI
Growth & Development of Organisms
Using the information on the previous page, describe how the
Venus flytrap meets all of the characteristics of a living thing.
1. Eat/Use Energy
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2. Grow/Develop
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3. Reproduce
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4. Interact with environment
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3rd Grade PSI
Growth & Development of Organisms
Life Cycles Homework
Homework #1
Name: __________________________
3rd Grade PSI
The red wolf is an animal that is native to North America and
is related to foxes, coyotes and the domestic dog. They are
usually covered in brown and tan fur with tints of red around the
ears, head and legs. Adults can grow to be four feet long and
weigh between 53 to 84 pounds.
Red wolves are social animals. They live together in packs
of five to eight wolves. The packs are very similar to human
families. The pack consists of one older male and one older
female and several younger wolves. When red wolves reach one
to two years of age, they break off of the pack and form their own
pack.
In the 1960s, the red wolf population was very low, due to
hunting and the destruction of their habitat. In 1973, the red wolf
became an endangered species. They were dying faster than
they were reproducing. The remaining 17 red wolves were
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3rd Grade PSI
Growth & Development of Organisms
captured and placed into a captive breeding program in order to
try to increase their population. The captive breeding program
ensured that the red wolves were protected so that reproduction
would be greater than deaths. When births are greater than
deaths in a population, the population increases in size.
Several zoos and organizations around the United States
agreed to participate in the captive breeding program. By 1984,
the red wolf population had increased to 63. In 1987, a majority of
the red wolf population was released onto Alligator River National
Wildlife Refuge in eastern North Carolina. This is a protected area
of land where the red wolves can live in the wild. There are
currently between 50 and 75 red wolves in the wild, with an
additional 200 red wolves still in captive breeding programs
across the United States.
By working together and understanding the science involved
in life cycles, organizations played an essential role in bringing the
red wolf back from the brink of extinction.
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3rd Grade PSI
Growth & Development of Organisms
1. Describe the stages of the life cycle of the red wolf.
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2. The captive breeding program focused on what stage of the
life cycle?
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3. Why is this an important stage for all living things?
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4. When the red wolves were first captured in the wild, there
were only 17 of them. Now, there are as many as 75 in the
wild. By how much did the wild population increase?
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3rd Grade PSI
Growth & Development of Organisms
Plant Life Cycles I Classwork
Classwork #2
Name: __________________________
3rd Grade PSI
1. Both of the pictures above show different parts of an apple
tree. What are two structures shown that are evidence that
these are adult apple trees?
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2. How would a young apple tree differ from an adult tree?
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3. If you plant an apple seed, it will eventually germinate. What
do you call the new plant that emerges from the seed?
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3rd Grade PSI
Growth & Development of Organisms
Plant Life Cycles I Homework
Homework #2
Name: __________________________
3rd Grade PSI
A chestnut seed is a fruit that is surrounded by a spiky covering,
called a burr. The burr helps to protect the seed. When the burr
falls to the ground, it breaks open, revealing the seed inside. The
chestnut seed does not have a large amount of food stored inside
of it. As a result, the embryo must germinate quickly in order to
survive.
The avocado is a fruit that contains one large seed on the inside.
The avocado seed takes a long time to germinate. When supplied
with plenty of water, roots and leaves will not emerge for 4-6
weeks.
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3rd Grade PSI
Growth & Development of Organisms
1. Why does the chestnut seed need to germinate quickly?
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2. The avocado seed takes a long time to germinate. What
does this tell you about the amount of food stored inside the
seed for the embryo?
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3. What is one similarity between the chestnut and the
avocado?
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4. What is one difference between the chestnut and the
avocado?
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5. Both seeds have a seed coat. What is the purpose of the
seed coat?
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3rd Grade PSI
Growth & Development of Organisms
Plant Life Cycles II Classwork
Classwork #3
Name: __________________________
3rd Grade PSI
Put the steps of plant reproduction in order by placing a number
on the line in front of each step. Number 1 is done for you. Draw
pictures of each step in the boxes below.
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A seed is created.
1
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Bright petals attract pollinators.
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The seed germinates and grows into an adult plant.
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Pollen from the stamens rubs off on the pollinator.
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The pollinator moves to another flower where pollen is
dropped onto the pistil.
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The seed falls to the ground and becomes buried.
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3rd Grade PSI
Growth & Development of Organisms
Plant Life Cycles II Homework
Homework #3
Name: __________________________
3rd Grade PSI
1. Label the parts of the flower below.
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2. In what structure is pollen formed? ____________________
3. What structure creates the seed?
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4. What needs to happen in order for a seed to be created?
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3rd Grade PSI
Growth & Development of Organisms
5. Why are petals often brightly colored?
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6. What role do pollinators play in plant reproduction?
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3rd Grade PSI
Growth & Development of Organisms
Animal Life Cycles Classwork
Classwork #4
Name: __________________________
3rd Grade PSI
Salmon eggs
Adult salmon
Salmon are saltwater fish that lay their eggs in freshwater.
Salmon spend about five years in the ocean before swimming into
freshwater to lay eggs. The female uses her tail to create a gravel
nest on the bottom of freshwater streams. A female can create up
to seven nests, with each nest containing 5,000 eggs!
Salmon eggs are usually laid in the summer. They develop
throughout winter and hatch in the spring. After laying eggs, the
adult fish usually die. The baby salmon are left to develop on their
own.
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3rd Grade PSI
Growth & Development of Organisms
Elephant babies develop inside of their mother’s bodies. It
takes about 22 months for a baby elephant to develop fully inside
of the mother. After this amount of time, the baby elephant is
born. Usually, only one baby is born at a time. The entire herd will
help and protect the baby. A baby elephant relies on the mother
for nutrition for up to three years.
1. If you look closely at the picture of the salmon eggs, you can
see the yolks. What is the purpose of the yolk?
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2. Salmon eggs are laid in water. What type of egg shell do you
think they have: hard shell, leathery shell or no shell?
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3rd Grade PSI
Growth & Development of Organisms
3. A female salmon can lay 5,000 eggs per nest and up to 7
nests. Use your calculator to determine how many eggs she
can lay.
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4. What is one similarity between the salmon and elephant life
cycles?
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5. What is one difference between the salmon and elephant life
cycles?
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3rd Grade PSI
Growth & Development of Organisms
Animal Life Cycles Homework
Homework #4
Name: __________________________
3rd Grade PSI
Honeybees are insects that hatch from eggs. From the time the
queen bee lays an egg, it takes 21 days for the egg to hatch and
the bee to develop into an adult.
First, the queen bee lays eggs. There is one egg in each cell of
the honeycomb. After three days, the egg hatches and a bee
larva emerges. The larva remains curled inside of the
honeycomb, being fed by worker bees.
Larva
Eggs
After 5 days, the larva’s cell is sealed off with wax. The larva
spins a cocoon around itself and becomes a pupa. For the next
13 days, the pupa transforms into an adult bee. After 13 days, the
adult bee emerges from the cell.
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3rd Grade PSI
Growth & Development of Organisms
1. What type of growth pattern does a honeybee have: direct
development, complete metamorphosis, or incomplete
metamorphosis? How do you know?
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2. What is one similarity and one difference between complete
and incomplete metamorphosis?
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3rd Grade PSI
Growth & Development of Organisms
3. This cycle takes a total of 21 days. Account for this time by
listing the number of days for each part of the
transformation.
Stage
# of Days
Egg
Larva
Pupa
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3rd Grade PSI
Growth & Development of Organisms
Answer Key
Life Cycles Classwork
Classwork #1
1. Venus flytraps eat by trapping insects and by making their own food via
photosynthesis.
2. Venus flytraps grow from a black seed into an adult plant in five years.
3. Venus flytraps reproduce by creating black seeds that grow into new plants.
4. Venus flytraps interact with their environment by trapping insects. When an
insect triggers the hairs on the leaves, the flytrap closes around the insect.
Life Cycles Homework
Homework #1
1. Birth – Red wolves are born into a pack.
Growth – Red wolves grow to be 4 feet long and up to 84 pounds.
Reproduction – Red wolves reproduce to create more wolves.
Death – Red wolves die.
2. Reproduction
3. If animals do not reproduce, then there will be no offspring to replace them. The
population will decrease until it goes extinct.
4. 75 – 17 = 58
Plant Life Cycles I Classwork
Classwork #2
1. Flowers, fruit
2. A young apple tree will look similar to the adult tree except that it will have
smaller leaves and it will not have flowers or fruit.
3. Seedling
Plant Life Cycles I Homework
Homework #2
1. The chestnut seed does not contain a large amount of food for the embryo.
2. The avocado has a large amount of food for the embryo.
3. Answers will vary.
4. Answers will vary.
5. The seed coat protects the seed.
Plant Life Cycles II Classwork
Classwork #3
1. Bright petals attract pollinators.
2. Pollen from the stamens rubs off on the pollinator.
3. The pollinator moves to another flower where pollen is dropped on the pistil.
4. A seed is created.
5. The seed falls to the ground and becomes buried.
6. The seed germinates and grows into an adult plant.
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3rd Grade PSI
Growth & Development of Organisms
Plant Life Cycles II Homework
Homework #3
1.
Stamen
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Pistil
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Petal
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2. Stamen
3. Pistil
4. The pollen from one flower needs to be dropped onto the pistil of another flower.
Then a seed can be made.
5. Bright petals attract pollinators.
6. Pollinators are important because they transfer pollen from one flower to another.
This is necessary for seeds to be created.
Animal Life Cycles Classwork
Classwork #4
1. The yolk provides nutrition for the developing embryo.
2. The egg has no shell. Because the egg is laid in water, the water is able to
protect the shell.
3. 5,000 x 7 = 35,000 eggs
4. Answers will vary.
5. Answers will vary.
Animal Life Cycles Homework
Homework #4
1. This is complete metamorphosis. The young bee looks nothing like the adult.
This means it is metamorphosis. The change includes the pupa stage, which
makes it a complete metamorphosis.
2. Answers may vary slightly. Both involve physical changes between the young
insect and the adult insect. In incomplete metamorphosis, there are only three
stages (egg, larva and adult). In complete metamorphosis, the insect goes
through a dormant pupa stage, so there are four stages (egg, larva, pupa and
adult).
3.
# of Days
Stage
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Egg
3
Larva
5
Pupa
13
3rd Grade PSI
Growth & Development of Organisms