Habitats and Ecosystems — Answer Key
Part A: Fix the Sentence
Each sentence has an error. Rewrite it correctly on the line.
1. Fix the sentence:
A camel lives in the ocean because it needs saltwater.
Corrected: A camel lives in the desert because it needs very little water.
Camels are built for hot, dry places, not the salty ocean. They store fat in their humps and can go many days without drinking, which is why the desert is the habitat that matches their needs.
2. Fix the sentence:
Polar bears live in the grassland where it is warm.
Corrected: Polar bears live in the tundra where it is cold.
Polar bears have thick white fur and a layer of fat that keep them warm in freezing weather, so they live in the icy tundra near the Arctic, not in warm grasslands.
3. Fix the sentence:
A clownfish makes its home in the desert near sand dunes.
Corrected: A clownfish makes its home in the ocean near coral reefs.
Clownfish are saltwater fish that live among the stinging tentacles of sea anemones on coral reefs, so the ocean is their true home, not the desert.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. A place where an animal lives and finds food is called its habitat.
The word that names the place an animal lives, finds food, and raises its young is habitat. A habitat gives an animal everything it needs to survive.
2. The desert is a hot and dry habitat.
Deserts get very little rain and the sun heats the sand all day, which makes dry the word that completes the description of this hot habitat.
3. Many trees, birds, and deer live in a forest habitat.
A place full of tall trees, singing birds, and grazing deer is a forest. Forests have shade, leaves, and plenty of plants that animals use for food and shelter.
4. The flat, grassy land where zebras and lions live is called a grassland.
Wide, open land covered with grass and few trees is called a grassland. Zebras and lions live there because there is plenty of grass to eat and room to run.
Part C: True or False?
Read each statement. Circle True or False.
1. A habitat gives animals food, water, and shelter.
True False
True. A habitat is the home that supplies the food, water, and shelter an animal needs, so without those three things an animal could not survive there.
2. Penguins live in hot desert habitats.
True False
False. Penguins live in cold places like Antarctica where they can swim in icy water and slide on ice; the heat of a desert would be too dangerous for them.
3. An ocean habitat is filled with saltwater.
True False
True. The water in oceans is salty, which is why ocean animals like fish, whales, and dolphins are adapted to live in saltwater instead of freshwater.