Download Characteristics of Life Lab Purpose: To apply the characteristics of

Characteristics of Life Lab
Purpose: To apply the characteristics of living things to an earthworm.
Procedure:
1. Carefully locate the worm in the dirt on your paper plate
 ***Use proper care and respect when handling living things!***
2. Observe the work with a hand lens. Use pages 694-699 in your text book to help you with the
following.
3. Determine the difference between the head and the tail end. The head end is closest to the
clitellum (a band that circles the worm).
4. Run your finger along the top and bottom of the worm. Do you feel anything? The bristly feeling
structures are called satae. They help anchor the worm in the dirt.
5. Turn the worm so the backside is facing you. This is the darker side. Try to locate a blood vessel
running along the back of the worm. Can you see the blood moving through this blood vessel?
6. Observe what happens when you touch the earthworm, when you put water on the earthworm
(not too much or you will drown it), and when you shine light on the worm.
Collecting Data/Drawing Conclusions
Answer the following questions using the book and the information you just obtained. Each
characteristic of life is in Bold faced print under each characteristic, you are going to explain or show
how the worm displays the particular characteristic of a living thing.
Organization
1. Draw a picture of the earthworm and label the head, tail, and clitellum.
2. Is this worm unicellular or multi-cellular? __________
3. From the following list, circle the ones you determined the worm to have: circulatory, nervous,
reproductive, skeletal, digestive, excretory, muscular.
4. List 3-5 Cells and their functions in the worm’s body:
Cells
Setae Cells
Crop Cells
Guard Cells
Skin Cells
Function
Growth
5. How does the earthworm grow?
Reproduction
6. How does the earthworm reproduce?
7. Is a dog’s heartworm (Toxocara canis) in the same species as the earthworm (Lumbricus
terrestris)? _______________
Adjust to Stimuli
8. List three stimuli and the three responses of the earthworm.
Stimulus
Response
Adapt and Evolve
9. List three adaptations of the earthworm. Explain how these adaptions allow the earthworm to
live in the environment.
Adaption
How it allows the earthworm to live in the environment?