Year 6 Science Classifying living things: check-up and practice test questions

Method. Think about how the oak makes food.

1. Look at the feature. An oak makes its own food using light.
   own food
2. Choose the group. So the oak is a plant.
   plants
3. Write the answer.
   plants

Check. Plants make their own food. ✓

Method. Find the flowering plants.

1. Read the table. The oak tree and the daisy make flowers and seeds.
   flowers
2. Write the names. So the answer is the oak tree and the daisy.
   Oak tree and Daisy
3. Write the answer.
   Oak tree and Daisy

Check. The pine, the fern and the moss do not. ✓

Method. Use the table of groups.

1. Find the characteristics. Feathers and a beak belong to birds.
   feathers
2. Write the group. So the group is birds.
   birds
3. Write the answer.
   birds

Check. Birds are vertebrates. ✓

Method. Check the backbone.

1. Look at spiders. A spider has no backbone.
   no backbone
2. Decide. So a spider is an invertebrate.
   no
3. Write the answer.
   no

Check. Spiders have eight legs. ✓

Method. Use the definition.

1. Read the definition. Living things too small to see clearly are micro-organisms.
   micro-organisms
2. Write the answer.
   micro-organisms

Check. Bacteria are single-celled micro-organisms. ✓

Method. Use the table of groups.

1. Find the characteristic. Dry, scaly skin belongs to reptiles.
   scaly skin
2. Write the group. So the group is reptiles.
   reptiles
3. Write the answer.
   reptiles

Check. A lizard is a reptile. ✓

Method. Follow the key.

1. Step A. It has no backbone, so go to step I.
   no backbone
2. Step J. It has eight legs, so it is a spider.
   spider
3. Write the answer.
   spider

Check. Spiders have eight legs. ✓

Method. Read the bar for birds.

1. Find the bar. The birds bar shows the count for birds.
   birds
2. Read the count. The bar reaches 4.
   4
3. Write the answer.
   4

Check. Birds are the largest group in the chart. ✓

Method. Think about the characteristics.

1. Think about flowers. A flowering plant makes flowers, but a conifer does not.
   no flowers
2. Think about cones. A conifer makes seeds in cones, which is its specific characteristic.
   cones
3. Write the answer.
   Accept any sentence that says a conifer makes cones and seeds, not flowers, so it does not fit the flowering group.

Check. Specific characteristics give reasons for a group. ✓

Method. Think about food.

1. Think about food. A snail cannot make its own food, and it must eat.
   must eat
2. Think about the group. That characteristic belongs to animals, not plants.
   animals
3. Write the answer.
   Accept any sentence that says a snail cannot make its own food, and must eat, which is a characteristic of animals.

Check. A reason uses a specific characteristic. ✓

Method. Recall the broad groups.

1. Name the groups. The broad groups are plants, animals and micro-organisms.
   three groups
2. Write the answer.
   plants, animals, micro-organisms

Check. Micro-organisms are a group of their own. ✓

Method. Compare the two plants.

1. Read the clues. A pine tree makes cones and no flowers; a flowering plant makes flowers.
   no flowers
2. Write the characteristic. So flowers are the characteristic not shared.
   flowers
3. Write the answer.
   flowers

Check. Flowers separate the two groups. ✓

Method. Recall how ferns and mosses reproduce.

1. Read the clues. Ferns and mosses have no flowers or seeds, so they use another method.
   another method
2. Name the cells. They reproduce using spores.
   spores
3. Write the answer.
   spores

Check. Spores are tiny cells. ✓

Method. Work down the key.

1. Step A. It has a backbone, so go to step B.
   backbone: yes
2. Step B. It has feathers, so it is a bird.
   bird
3. Write the answer.
   bird

Check. Feathers and a beak are the characteristics of birds. ✓

Method. Work down the key.

1. Step A. It has no backbone, so go to step I.
   backbone: no
2. Step I. It has six legs, so it is an insect.
   insect
3. Write the answer.
   insect

Check. Insects have six legs and three body parts. ✓

Method. Find the row with fins and scales.

1. Read the table. Only the salmon has yes in both the fins and scales columns.
   Salmon
2. Write the answer.
   Salmon

Check. The robin and the dog have no fins and no scales. ✓

Method. Add the vertebrate groups.

1. Pick the vertebrates. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals are vertebrates.
   3 + 2 + 2 + 4 + 3
2. Add. The total is 3 + 2 + 2 + 4 + 3 = 14.
   14
3. Write the answer.
   14

Check. The other six creatures are insects, spiders and worms. ✓

Method. Look at the characteristics of a bat.

1. Check the fur. A bat has fur, not feathers.
   fur
2. Check the young. A bat feeds its young on milk, so it is a mammal.
   mammal
3. Write the answer.
   Accept any sentence that says a bat has fur and feeds its young on milk, which mammals do; wings do not make it a bird.

Check. Wings alone do not decide the group. ✓

Method. Compare size and cells.

1. Think about size. Micro-organisms are too small to see clearly without a microscope.
   too small
2. Think about cells. Many micro-organisms are single-celled, but plants are made of many cells.
   single-celled
3. Write the answer.
   Accept any sentence that says micro-organisms are too small to see clearly and are often single-celled, unlike plants.

Check. Micro-organisms form their own broad group. ✓

Method. Work down the key.

1. Step A. It has a backbone, so go to step B.
   backbone: yes
2. Steps B and C. It has no feathers and no fur, so go to step D.
   step D
3. Steps D and E. It has no fins and has dry, scaly skin, so it is a reptile.
   reptile
4. Write the answer.
   reptile

Check. A lizard follows the same route. ✓