Life Cycles of Animals — Answer Key
Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. A butterfly lays tiny eggs on a leaf.
A mother butterfly places small round eggs on a leaf so the babies have food when they hatch, so eggs is what fills the blank.
2. The egg hatches into a caterpillar.
When the egg opens, a tiny caterpillar crawls out and starts eating the leaf, making caterpillar the right word.
3. A caterpillar wraps itself in a chrysalis.
After eating and growing, the caterpillar wraps itself in a hard case called a chrysalis where it can change safely.
4. Inside the chrysalis it becomes a butterfly.
Inside the chrysalis, the caterpillar's body changes shape, and a butterfly comes out when it is ready.
5. A frog begins life as a small egg.
Frogs lay their eggs in water, so the very first stage of a frog's life is a small egg.
6. The egg grows into a tadpole.
Once the egg hatches, a tadpole swims out with a long tail and gills, so tadpole is the next stage.
7. A tadpole grows legs and loses its tail.
As a tadpole turns into a frog, it grows four legs and slowly loses its tail since adult frogs do not need it.
8. A chicken begins its life inside an egg.
A chick grows inside a hard shell with food and warmth, so a chicken's life starts inside an egg.
9. Animals change as they grow up.
Every animal starts small and changes into its adult form, which means they grow up over time.
Part B: Matching
Match each item on the left to the correct answer on the right.
1. Match each item to its correct answer.
egg
→ first stage
baby frog
caterpillar
→ baby butterfly
baby butterfly
tadpole
→ baby frog
baby chicken
chick
→ baby chicken
first stage
An egg is the first stage of many life cycles, a caterpillar will become a butterfly, a tadpole turns into a frog, and a chick grows into a chicken.