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.
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- 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) | |
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| (The skulls are not to scale.) | ||
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i) This is the skull of a ... herbivore / carnivore (circle one) |
i) This is the skull of a ... herbivore / carnivore (circle one) |
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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.
___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ |
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| 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) | |
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iv) Give one piece of evidence to support this: ___________________________________ |
iv) Give one piece of evidence to support this: ___________________________________ |
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Skulls on the Farm – Self-assessment sheet
Tick in the boxes below
all the pieces of evidence you used.| a) | i) | This is the skull of a carnivore. | |||
| ii) | Observations | Knowledge | |||
| sharp, pointy teeth |
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... for biting off bits of meat - indicates a carnivore/meat eater |
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| long, pointy, canine teeth |
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... for piercing/ holding prey - indicates a carnivore/meat eater |
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| teeth right along jaw bones |
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... for chewing meat - indicates a carnivore/meat eater |
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| overlapping teeth |
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... act like scissors to chop meat - indicates a carnivore/meat eater |
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| eye socket facing front |
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... to look for prey - indicates a hunter/ predator |
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| iii) | This is the skull of a dog. | ||||
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iv)
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longish upper jaw
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... longer than a cat's
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b)
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i)
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This is the skull of a herbivore.
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| ii) | Observations | Knowledge | |||
| chisel shaped sharp teeth in bottom front jaw |
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... for cutting off grass - indicates a plant eater/ herbivore |
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... for the incisor teeth to cut against - indicates a plant eater/herbivore |
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| grinding teeth at back |
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... for grinding up plant material - indicates a plant eater/ herbivore |
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| gap between front and back teeth |
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... allows animal to protrude tongue through gap, wrap around grass and pull into the mouth |
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| eye socket at side |
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... for watching out for enemies - indicates a grazing animal |
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| iii) | This is the skull of a sheep. | ||||
| iv) | shortish upper jaw |
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... shorter than a cattle beast's |
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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.
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