Classify it, then prove it

Science · Ecosystems & Habitats · ages 10-11

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Which of these is the strongest single clue that an animal is a bird?
- It sings
- Feathers
- It can fly
A creature has dry scaly skin, claws on its feet, and breathes air with lungs. Which group does this evidence point to?
- Reptile
- Amphibian
- Bird
Guessing a creature's group quickly is better than observing its features closely.
Circle one: True False
A dolphin and a shark both have fins and live in water. Which feature actually helps tell them apart?
- How fast it swims
- Air or gills
- The color of its fins
A penguin has feathers, a beak, and flipper-like wings, but it cannot fly and it swims. Which group does the evidence support?
- Mammal
- Bird
- Fish
Kai watches an animal eat grass and says, 'It eats grass, so it must be a mammal.' What would make his claim stronger?
- Check a second feature like fur
- Watching it eat grass for longer
- Measuring how much grass it eats
In this task, to justify a classification decision well, how many separate pieces of evidence should you use, at minimum?
Answer: ______________
Zoe lists 4 clues for a creature: has feathers, has a beak, is small, sings at dawn. How many of these clues are strong group-sorting evidence?
Answer: ______________
Which justification is the strongest for calling a snake a reptile?
- Scales and leathery eggs
- It has dry scales
- It looks like a reptile
A penguin and a dolphin both swim using flippers. Which evidence best separates them into their true groups?
- How deep each one can dive
- Which ocean each one lives in
- Feathers versus milk feeding

Answer key

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

Classify it, then prove it W1-mt_B8lX8OCzGu-s1

Feathers · Only birds have feathers, so feathers point to one group only. Flying and singing show up outside birds too.
Reptile · Dry scaly skin plus claws are reptile features. Amphibians have moist skin without scales.
False · A guess is not evidence. Careful observing comes first, so your classification has real clues behind it.
Air or gills · Dolphins breathe air through a blowhole; sharks use gills. That difference shows their groups, not fin color or speed.
Bird · Feathers and a beak are bird features. Swimming and not flying cannot cancel feathers.
Check a second feature like fur · Eating plants is true for insects, birds, reptiles, and mammals. A second, different clue like fur makes the claim solid.
2 · Using at least two pieces of evidence makes a classification much more convincing than using just one.
2 · Feathers and a beak sort animals into groups. Being small and singing at dawn do not, so only 2 clues count.
Scales and leathery eggs · Two clues that agree, scales and leathery eggs, beat one clue. Looking like something is not evidence at all.
Feathers versus milk feeding · Feathers and a beak make the penguin a bird; smooth skin and milk feeding make the dolphin a mammal. Diving depth and ocean do not sort groups.