SUMMARY

1. SUMMARY-UNIT 3-ANIMALS
SCIENCE – PRIMARY YEAR 4
MAMMALS
 Mammals are vertebrates: they have a backbone.
 Most mammals have fur or hair.
 Mammals breathe in oxygen from the air with their lungs.
 Mammals are viviparous: they are born live.
 All baby mammals drink their mother’s milk.
 Most mammals have four legs and move on land.
 Some mammals have flippers to move in water.
 Mammals can be carnivores: they eat other animals; herbivores: they eat plants; or omnivores:
they eat plants and other animals.
 Some examples of mammals are: dogs, cats, elephants, tigers, mice, lions, dolphins, giraffes,
bats, cows, deer, etc.
BIRDS
 Birds are vertebrates.
 Birds can be of different colours.
 All birds are covered in feathers and have wings and a beak.
 Not all birds can fly.
 Birds breathe in oxygen from the air with their lungs.
 Birds are oviparous: they lay eggs.
 Birds can be carnivores, herbivores or omnivores.
Birds can have:
* A hooked beak to tear meat.
* A short beak to eat nuts and seeds.
* A long, sharp beak to catch fish.
* A long, thin beak to eat nectar from the flowers.
*
FISH AND AMPHIBIANS
≈ Fish are vertebrates.
≈ Fish have fins and scales.
≈ Fish breathe through their gills.
≈ Fish live in freshwater, in sea water or in both.
≈ Most fish are oviparous, but some are viviparous.
≈ Fish can be carnivores, herbivores or omnivores.
 Amphibians are cold-blooded vertebrates
 Most amphibians are carnivores.
 Baby amphibians live and grow in water an breathe through
their gills.
 In a process called metamorphosis, baby amphibians
change and grow into adult amphibians.
 Adult amphibians live in water and on land.
 Adult amphibians breathe through their lungs and absorb
oxygen through their moist skin.

2. INVERTEBRATES
 Invertebrates are all around us.
 Invertebrates don’t have a backbone.
 Invertebrates live on land and in water.
 Invertebrates walk, swim, crawl and fly.
 Many invertebrates have an exoskeleton, a shell or a soft body.
INSECTS:
 Insects have an exoskeleton.
 Insects have their body divided into
three parts: the head, the thorax and
the abdomen.
 Insects have two antennae; six legs and
most insects have wings.
SPIDERS:
 Spiders have a body that is divided into
two parts: the head and the abdomen.
 All spiders have eight legs.
 Most spiders have eight eyes, but some
can have six, four or two eyes.
CRABS:
 Crabs have ten legs and two eyes.
 Crabs usually move sideways.
 Crabs have a thick exoskeleton.
REPTILES
CENTIPEDES:
 Centipedes have lots of legs and many
body parts.
 Centipedes have two antennae.
 Centipedes can move quickly.
WORMS:
 Worms have a soft body that is divided
into many parts.
 An earthworm has no lungs and
breathes in oxygen through its moist
skin.
OCTOPUSES:
 Octopuses have a soft body and eight
legs.
 They have a very good sense of touch in
their suckers.
SNAILS:
 Snails have a head with two tentacles
and there is an eye at the end of each
tentacle.
 Snails have a soft body that is protected
by a shell.
 Reptiles were the first vertebrates to
leave the water and live on land.
 Most reptiles have four limbs.
 Reptiles have scales.
 Reptiles breathe in oxygen with their
lungs.
 Reptiles are cold-blooded.
 Most reptiles are oviparous and lay their
eggs on land.
 Most reptiles are carnivores.
SNAKES:
 Snakes need to lose a layer of skin as they
grow.
LIZARDS:
 Lizards need to replace their skin with new
skin.
 Some lizards can also lose their tail to
protect themselves from predators. It usually
grows back.
CROCODILES:
 The scales of crocodiles grow as the crocodile
grows.
 Crocodiles can move quickly both on land
and in water.
TORTOISES:
 Tortoises have a shell.
 Tortoises live on land and are mostly
herbivores.
TURTLES:
 Turtles live in water.
 Turtles lay their eggs on land.
 Most turtles are omnivores