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Exploring the major differences between the plant and animal kingdoms.
Imagine if you could make your own dinner just by standing outside in the sunshine! Why can a sunflower stay in one spot its whole life, while a hungry lion has to spend hours chasing its lunch?
The biggest difference between plants and animals is how they get energy. Plants are like tiny chefs; they make their own food! They use a process called photosynthesis. By using sunlight, water, and air, they create a type of sugar to eat. Animals, on the other hand, are like shoppers. They cannot make their own food. To get energy, animals must eat plants or other animals. This is why plants are called producers and animals are called consumers.
Let's look at a sunflower: 1. The sunflower spreads its leaves to catch sunlight. 2. It drinks water through its roots. 3. It takes in carbon dioxide from the air. 4. It combines these to make food. It doesn't need to hunt!
Quick Check
What is the name of the process plants use to make food from sunlight?
Answer
Photosynthesis
Because plants make their own food, they don't need to go anywhere to find a meal. Most plants are stationary, meaning they stay in one place using roots. Animals have to find food, water, and mates, so they have developed locomotion. This is the ability to move from one place to another. Animals use legs, wings, or fins to navigate their world. While a plant might tilt toward the light, it will never get up and walk to a new forest!
Consider a rabbit in a field: 1. The rabbit uses its powerful back legs to move (locomotion). 2. It moves to find clover to eat because it cannot make food in its own body. 3. If a hawk flies overhead, the rabbit uses movement to hide in a burrow for safety.
Quick Check
Why do animals need to move (locomotion) while plants usually stay in one spot?
Answer
Animals must move to find food, water, or safety, while plants make their own food where they are.
Scientists use these differences to put living things into groups called Kingdoms. If an organism has green parts, stays in the ground, and makes its own food, it goes into the Plant Kingdom. If it moves around and eats other living things, it goes into the Animal Kingdom. Even though they look different, a tiny ant and a giant whale are both in the Animal Kingdom because they both have to eat to survive!
Is a Venus Flytrap an animal because it 'snaps' shut on bugs? 1. It has green leaves and uses photosynthesis for most of its energy. 2. It is rooted in the ground and cannot walk away. 3. Even though it catches bugs for extra nutrients, it is still classified as a Plant because of its structure and ability to make food from light.
Which of these is a 'producer'?
What is the main reason animals have the ability to move (locomotion)?
A living thing must be able to walk to be part of the Animal Kingdom.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow morning, look out your window. Can you spot one producer and one consumer? Remember the word 'Photosynthesis'!
Practice Activity
Draw a picture of an imaginary creature. Decide if it is a plant or an animal, then list three reasons why based on how it eats and moves.