Grade 3 Science Trimester I Study Guide

Grade 3 Science Chapter 1 Study Guide

Vocabulary
• organism: A living thing. • pupa: The stage of some insects’ life cycles before
• respond: To react to something. becoming an adult.
• reproduce: To make more of one’s own kind. • habitat: The home of a living thing.
• environment: All the living and nonliving things • climate: The pattern of weather at a certain place
that surround an organism. over a long time.
• cell: the basic building block that makes up all • soil: A mixture of minerals, weathered rocks, and
living things. decayed plant and animal matter.
• seed: A structure that can grow into a new plant. • structure: A part of an organism.
• embryo: A young organism that is just beginning • shelter: A place in which an animal can stay safe.
to grow. • adaptation: A structure or behavior that helps a
• flower: A plant structure where seeds are made. living thing survive in its environment.
• fruit: A plant structure that grows around seeds. • ecosystem: The living and nonliving things that
• life cycle: All the stages in an organism’s life. share an environment and interact.
• cone: A plant structure where seeds are made in • food chain: A series of organisms that depend on
some conifers (nonflowering plants). one another for food.
• metamorphosis: A series of changes in which an • producer: An organism such as a plant, that makes
organism’s body changes form. its own food.
• egg: An animal structure that protects and feeds • consumer: An animal that eats plants or animals.
some very young animals such as birds. • decomposer: An organism that breaks down dead
• larva: The stage in some insects’ life cycles that plant and animal material.
comes after hatching. • food web: Several food chains that are connected.

1. What are living things?

• living things grow – change with age
• living things respond – react to changes in the environment. An example of a response is when a
sunflower turns to face the sun.
• living things reproduce – make more of one’s own kind

2. What do living-things need?

• food
• water
• gases – animals need oxygen and plants need oxygen & carbon dioxide
• space

3. What are living things made of?

• cells – the building blocks of living things
• cells are seen with a microscope – a tool that makes small things look larger

4. How do plants grow?

1) When conditions are right inside the soil, a seed germinates – or begins to grow.
2) The seed holds food for the embryo inside – an embryo is a young plant.
3) When a seed germinates, it soaks up water and swells until the embryo breaks out of the seed.
4) The embryo grows into a small plant called a seedling that can grow into an adult plant.
Grade 3 Science Trimester I Study Guide

adult

seedling

seed embryo germinates

5. How do plants make seeds?

1) A flower has a male part called stamen that makes pollen, and a female part called pistil, that makes
eggs.
2) Pollinators like birds, bats, bees, and insects are attracted to the flower’s smell and color. Pollen
attaches to the pollinators who unknowingly carry pollen to the female pistil where the eggs are.
3) The pollen goes down the style to the ovary and joins with the egg to make a seed, then a fruit grows
around the seed.
4) Seeds can travel in the wind, on animal fur, or get eaten by animals and then released in their waste.

Pistil

Ovary (eggs)
Anther

6. How do different plants reproduce?

• Flowering plants use flowers to make seeds.
• Conifers use cones to make seeds.
• Some plants use spores instead of seeds.
Grade 3 Science Trimester I Study Guide

Conifers Flowering Plants Seedlesss

seeds in cones make spores

seeds in flowers

7. What are some examples of animal life cycles?

• Most insects and some amphibians do not look like their parents when they hatch from eggs. They go
through metamorphosis – a process when animals change shape.
• Insects start life cycles as an egg → larva → pupa → adult
• Most amphibians, reptiles and insects do not care for their young.
• Mammals are born live and are taken care of by parents. Birds also take care of young.

8. How do habitats differ?

• Each habitat has a different climate, soil, plants, and animals
• Animals and plants have adaptations (behaviors) to help them survive in their habitat.
• Some structures (parts) also help a plant or animal survive.
▪ Plants have roots, stems, leaves, and flowers to help them get what they need.
▪ Animals have legs, wings, beaks, gills, or lungs to help them survive.
▪ Some animals even have body parts that give shelter like a turtle’s shell or kangaroo’s pouch.

9. What is an ecosystem?
• An ecosystem is made up of living and
nonliving things that interact.
• Animals depend on each other for food
and use nonliving things such as rocks,
water, and soil for shelter.
Grade 3 Science Trimester I Study Guide

10. What is a food chain and a food web?

• A food chain shows how energy passes from one living thing to the next. When food chains are
connected a food web is formed. Most food chains start with the sun.
• A producer makes its own food. Plants are an example.
• A consumer eats other living things to get energy. There are three types of consumers.
▪ Herbivores eat plants.
▪ Carnivores eat other animals (meat). Predators hunt the prey
▪ Omnivores eat plants and animals.
• A decomposer breaks down dead plant and animal material and releases the nutrients into the soil.
Worms and bacteria are examples of decomposers.
• REMEMBER: * *Producers make! Consumers take! Decomposers break! **

11. Why are decomposers important?

• Decomposers are important for the ecosystem because they provide nutrients to the soil. Plants need
that to grow. Small animals eat plants and bigger animals eat the small animal. Humans survive on
plants and animals. Without the nutrients decomposers give the soil, all food chains on land will be
broken, and organisms can’t survive.