Year 5 Science · Life cycles of animals · Lesson 2.2

Year 5 Science: Life cycle of a mammal

Part of the Year 5 Science life cycles of animals chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page

2.2

Life cycle of a mammal

Year 5
LH1: the life cycle of a mammal, such as a cat

Story. Tom’s cat has a litter of kittens in the airing cupboard. “They came out alive, not from eggs,” says Tom. “Their mum feeds them milk, and one day they will be cats too.”

A cat is a mammal. Mammals have hair or fur, and most mammals give birth to live young. The young develop inside the mother, and they are fed on milk from the mother after they are born.

The young grow and learn, and become adults. Adults can have young of their own, and the life cycle goes round again.

The life cycle of a cat: a baby born alive, a young cat that drinks milk, and an adult cat that can have young.

Key ideas

Most mammals give birth to live young.
Mammals feed their young on milk.
Mammals have hair or fur.
The young grow into adults, which can have young of their own.

Worked example 2.2.1

Look at the mammal life cycle in section 2.2. Which stage comes before the young cat? Write the word.

Method. Read the pictures in order.

Read the first stage. The first stage is the baby, which is born alive.
baby
Read the next stage. The young cat comes after the baby.
young cat comes next
Write the answer.
baby

Check. The baby is the stage before the young cat. ✓

Worked example 2.2.2

Is a cat a mammal? Write yes or no, and give a reason from the list of features in section 2.2.

Method. Check the features of a mammal.

Check the features. A cat has fur, and it feeds its young on milk.
fur and milk
Decide. Because it has fur and feeds its young on milk, a cat is a mammal.
yes
Write the answer.
yes

Check. A cat has fur and feeds its young on milk. ✓

Worked example 2.2.3

Tom says a baby cat hatched from an egg. Is he right? Write yes or no.

Method. Think about how a mammal begins life.

Think about the baby. A baby cat is born alive, so it does not hatch from an egg.
born alive
Decide. So Tom is not right.
no
Write the answer.
no

Check. Most mammals give birth to live young. ✓

Watch out

Watch out: a mammal’s young are born alive and fed on milk. They do not hatch from eggs, as the young of a bird do.

Try it (with your teacher or a grown-up). Look at a photograph of a cat, a dog or a rabbit with its young, in a book or on a grown-up’s phone. Count the stages you can see: a baby, a young animal, and an adult. Write one sentence about how the young are fed.

Exam tip

Grown-up tip. Ask: “How does a mammal begin its life? What do its young drink?” Let your child explain the stages in order.

Exercise 2B Life cycle of a mammal

FAre kittens born from eggs, or born alive? Write eggs or alive.

Done

FWhat do kittens drink from their mother? Write one word.

Done

FFill in the gap: mammals have hair or ___. Write one word.

Done

FLook at the mammal life cycle in section 2.2. How many stages are shown? Write the number.

Done

FLook at the mammal life cycle in section 2.2. Write the word for the last stage shown.

Done

FFill in the gap: most mammals give birth to ___ young. Write one word.

Done

FTrue or false: most mammals hatch from eggs. Write true or false.

Done

FPut these stages in order, starting with the first: adult, baby, young. Write the first word.

Done

PSTom says his cat’s kittens hatched from eggs. Is he right? Write yes or no.

Done

PSWorking scientifically. Record a difference. Write one way the young of a mammal are different from the young of a bird. Write one sentence.

Done

RExplain why a mammal mother must look after her young after they are born. Write one sentence.

Done