Life Cycles — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. Which life cycle includes a chrysalis stage?
A) frog
B) chicken
C) butterfly
D) plant
Only butterflies have a chrysalis, which is the case where a caterpillar changes into a butterfly. Frogs and chickens do not use a chrysalis to grow up.
2. What do a frog, a chicken, and a butterfly all have in common?
A) They all fly as adults.
B) They all hatch from eggs.
C) They all live in water.
D) They all have feathers.
Frogs, chickens, and butterflies each begin life inside an egg, even though their eggs look different. After hatching, each animal grows in its own way.
3. Which stage comes right after a tadpole in the frog life cycle?
A) egg
B) adult frog
C) froglet
D) spawn
A tadpole grows legs and starts to lose its tail, turning into a froglet that looks like a tiny frog with a short tail. When the tail is gone, the froglet becomes a full-grown frog.
4. Why do plants make flowers?
A) to look pretty for people
B) to make food for animals
C) to produce seeds for new plants
D) to keep bugs away
Flowers are the part of a plant where seeds are made. The seeds grow into new plants, which is how the plant life cycle keeps going.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. A caterpillar molts, or sheds its skin, several times as it grows.
A caterpillar's skin does not stretch, so it has to shed the old skin to keep growing bigger. This shedding is called molting and happens several times.
2. A froglet looks like a small frog but still has a short tail.
A froglet is partway between a tadpole and an adult, so it still has a leftover tail from its tadpole stage. The tail slowly shrinks until it is gone.
3. A young chicken grows adult feathers to replace its down.
Adult feathers are bigger and stronger than fluffy baby down, so a young chicken grows them as it matures. The new feathers help it stay warm and fly short distances.
4. Wind can carry seeds to help new plants grow far away.
Many seeds are light or have fluffy parts, like dandelion seeds, so the wind can lift and carry them. Landing in a new spot lets the plant grow somewhere with more room and sunlight.
5. The word metamorphosis means a big change in an animal's body shape.
Metamorphosis is the science word for a big body change as an animal grows up. A caterpillar turning into a butterfly is one of the clearest examples.