1. Animal Life Cycles
Unit 4, Lesson 6

2. What is metamorphosis?
A series of distinct growth stages in an animal’s life cycle that are different from one another.

3. What is complete metamorphosis?
A series of four distinct growth stages in an animal’s life cycle.
Egg, larva, pupa, adult

4. Larva
An immature stage in complete metamorphosis where the organism does not resemble the adult

5. Pupa
A non-feeding stage in complete metamorphosis in which a hard, case-like cocoon surround the organism

6. Incomplete metamorphosis
A series of three growth stages that occur gradually
Egg, nymph, adult

7. Nymph
A stage of metamorphosis where the organism is similar to an adult form but is smaller

8. In the life cycle of a butterfly, what stage is the caterpillar?
Larva

9. What happens during the nymph stage of incomplete metamorphosis?
The organism gets bigger but keeps the same basic shape and form

10. How does the complete metamorphosis differ from the incomplete metamorphosis?
Complete metamorphosis has 4 distinct stages, while the incomplete metamorphosis has only 3 distinct stages.

11. Most tadpoles are herbivores, or plant eaters
What do tadpoles eat?
Most tadpoles are herbivores, or plant eaters

12. Why don’t tadpoles hatch with lungs?
Frog eggs are laid in the water. If tadpoles hatched with lungs rather than gills, they would not be able to breathe.
Tadpoles are completely aquatic for the first part of their lives

13. What happens when a froglet becomes an adult?
It moves onto land
Breathes air
Begins meat eating diet

14. How does a bird’s egg protect the embryo developing inside?
The shell keeps the embryo from drying out.
The yolk provides food for the developing embryo.

15. How is a fish or amphibian egg protected?
It is protected by a jellylike layer that surrounds the egg

16. Name some animals that go through complete metamorphosis
Butterflies
Moths
Flies
Beetles

17. Name some animals that go through incomplete metamorphosis
Grasshoppers
Termites
Bedbugs

18. What metamorphosis stage is skipped in incomplete metamorphosis?
In incomplete metamorphosis, the nymph stage is the same as the larva stage in a complete metamorphosis, and the pupa stage is skipped.

19. Why can’t grasshoppers grow gradually like mammals, reptiles, and birds do?
Grasshoppers have an exoskeleton

20. How does an amphibian’s life cycle differ from that of other vertebrates?
Amphibians go through metamorphosis, but other vertebrate do not.

21. Why do animals have different eggs?
Animals have different eggs depending on their structures and the environments in which they live.

22. What are the only mammals that lay eggs?
Monotremes are the only mammals that lay eggs.