Drawing Life Cycle Diagrams · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Drawing Life Cycle Diagrams

Science · Organisms & Life Processes · ages 7-8
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Look at this butterfly life cycle. Which stage comes right after the caterpillar?

    EggCaterpillarChrysalisButterfly
    • Egg
    • Chrysalis
    • Adult butterfly

  2. Look at this plant life cycle. What is the very first stage?

    SeedSeedlingPlantFlower
    • Seed
    • Seedling
    • Flower

  3. A grasshopper goes through a chrysalis stage, just like a butterfly.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. A young insect hatches already looking like a tiny wingless adult, then slowly grows wings. Which type of life cycle is this?

    • Complete metamorphosis
    • Incomplete metamorphosis
    • Not a real life cycle

  5. Which stage of a flowering plant's life cycle makes new seeds?

    • Seedling
    • Mature plant
    • Flower

  6. In a life cycle diagram, what do the arrows between stages show?

    • Which stage happens next
    • How big the animal is
    • What color the animal is

  7. A mammal is born as a live baby instead of hatching from an egg. Which stage would you leave out of its life cycle diagram?

    • Egg
    • Baby
    • Adult

  8. Zara labeled a grasshopper's life cycle as Egg, Nymph, Chrysalis, Adult. What mistake did she make?

    • Grasshoppers do not have a chrysalis stage
    • The egg stage should come last
    • Nymphs come after adults
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Drawing Life Cycle Diagrams W1-mt_7EqhgErJyU-s1

  1. Chrysalis · After the caterpillar stage, the insect forms a chrysalis, where its body changes shape.
  2. Seed · The seed is the very start of a flowering plant's life cycle.
  3. False · Grasshoppers hatch as nymphs and grow bigger without ever forming a chrysalis. That is why we call it incomplete metamorphosis.
  4. Incomplete metamorphosis · This is incomplete metamorphosis. There is no chrysalis stage, just a nymph that slowly grows into an adult.
  5. Flower · The flower turns into fruit that holds new seeds, so the cycle can start again.
  6. Which stage happens next · Arrows point from one stage to the next, showing the order the stages happen in.
  7. Egg · Mammals skip the egg stage entirely, since their babies are born live and already growing.
  8. Grasshoppers do not have a chrysalis stage · Grasshoppers grow through incomplete metamorphosis, so a nymph turns straight into an adult with no chrysalis in between.
Worksheet · LightMySky