When visiting his cousin's farm, William found two skulls in one of the paddocks. He thought one might be a cow or sheep, and the other a dog or cat.
|
|
|
|
- Look carefully at each skull to decide which animal it belonged to.
- Compare the skulls with the pictures of the animals, and also think about other features you can observe on the skulls.
- List as many reasons as you can for your choice.
- Mark your work using the self-assessment sheet.
a) | b) | |
![]() |
![]() |
|
(The skulls are not to scale.) | ||
i) This is the skull of a ... herbivore / carnivore (circle one) |
i) This is the skull of a ... herbivore / carnivore (circle one) |
|
ii) Identify 3 observable features of the skull and say how they support your statement above.
___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ |
ii) Identify 3 observable features of the skull and say how they support your statement above.
___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ |
|
iii) This is the skull of a cow / sheep / dog / cat (circle one) | iii) This is the skull of a cow / sheep / dog / cat (circle one) | |
iv) Give one piece of evidence to support this: ___________________________________ |
iv) Give one piece of evidence to support this: ___________________________________ |
Skulls on the Farm – Self-assessment sheet
Tick in the boxes below

a) | i) | This is the skull of a carnivore. | |||
ii) | Observations | Knowledge | |||
sharp, pointy teeth |
![]() |
... for biting off bits of meat - indicates a carnivore/meat eater |
![]() |
||
long, pointy, canine teeth |
![]() |
... for piercing/ holding prey - indicates a carnivore/meat eater |
![]() |
||
teeth right along jaw bones |
![]() |
... for chewing meat - indicates a carnivore/meat eater |
![]() |
||
overlapping teeth |
![]() |
... act like scissors to chop meat - indicates a carnivore/meat eater |
![]() |
||
eye socket facing front |
![]() |
... to look for prey - indicates a hunter/ predator |
![]() |
||
iii) | This is the skull of a dog. | ||||
iv)
|
longish upper jaw
|
![]() |
... longer than a cat's
|
![]() |
|
b)
|
i)
|
This is the skull of a herbivore.
|
|||
ii) | Observations | Knowledge | |||
chisel shaped sharp teeth in bottom front jaw |
![]() |
... for cutting off grass - indicates a plant eater/ herbivore |
![]() |
||
|
![]() |
... for the incisor teeth to cut against - indicates a plant eater/herbivore |
![]() |
||
grinding teeth at back |
![]() |
... for grinding up plant material - indicates a plant eater/ herbivore |
![]() |
||
gap between front and back teeth |
![]() |
... allows animal to protrude tongue through gap, wrap around grass and pull into the mouth |
![]() |
||
eye socket at side |
![]() |
... for watching out for enemies - indicates a grazing animal |
![]() |
||
iii) | This is the skull of a sheep. | ||||
iv) | shortish upper jaw |
![]() |
... shorter than a cattle beast's |
![]() |
What evidence did you use from your previous experience or knowledge?
You can use your self-assessment sheet to decide where your next learning goals should be.
|