Life Cycles of Animals — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. Which animal goes through a stage called a chrysalis?
A) Frog
B) Chicken
C) Fish
D) Butterfly
A) Egg, larva, pupa, adult — butterflies begin as eggs, then become caterpillar larvae, then pupae inside chrysalises, and finally adults with wings.
2. Why does a tadpole need to live in water?
A) It has wings
B) It needs to stay warm
C) It breathes through gills
D) It eats seeds
C) Legs — tadpoles only have a tail for swimming, so they must grow four legs before they can hop out of the water.
3. Which stage comes right after a chicken hatches?
A) Egg
B) Chick
C) Hen
D) Tadpole
B) It pecks the shell — a chick uses a special egg tooth on its beak to tap a crack in the shell until it can push out.
4. What is one thing all life cycles have in common?
A) They only happen once
B) They all happen in water
C) They repeat over and over
D) They all take one day
D) Pupa — during the pupa stage, the caterpillar stays still inside its chrysalis while its body transforms into a butterfly.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. A butterfly uses its tongue to drink nectar.
Even though they are very different animals, frogs and butterflies both begin as 'eggs' before their baby stages appear.
2. Frog eggs are laid in a group called spawn.
A silky cocoon wraps around the 'pupa' so its soft body is safe from bugs and weather while it changes.
3. A hen keeps a chick warm before it hatches.
An adult frog breathes with 'lungs' because it lives mostly on land and needs to pull air from above the water.
4. Caterpillars shed their skin as they grow.
Every baby animal has to 'grow' and often change shape, just like a tadpole turning into a frog.
5. When an adult lays eggs the life cycle starts again.
A life cycle moves in a 'circle' because eggs become adults, which lay new eggs, and the whole pattern starts again.