Primary 6 · Science · Diversity: Classification
Diversity: Classification questions for Primary 6 Science
9 questions to work through online, 2 of them written out the way the paper asks. Answer and you get the working straight away, then a score at the end. No sign-up, and you can retake it as often as you like.
- Identifying from a table
- Negative questions
- Vertebrate groups
- Reading a key
- Plant groups
- What makes a good key question
- Naming a group
- Applying the ideas
| Characteristic | W | X | Y | Z |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| makes its own food | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| has a backbone | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| reproduces by spores | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| has hair or fur | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
Same picture as the question above.
| Characteristic | W | X | Y | Z |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| makes its own food | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| has a backbone | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| reproduces by spores | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| has hair or fur | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
Answers and explanations for all 9 questions
Every answer with the reasoning behind it. Worth reading after you have tried the set — or on its own, if you are a parent marking it.
Based on the table above, which organism is a fern?
Answer: W
A fern makes its own food and reproduces by spores rather than seeds. W is the only column with both.
Using the same table, which statement is INCORRECT?
Answer: Z is a plant, because it reproduces by spores.
Reproducing by spores does not make something a plant — fungi do it too. Z cannot make its own food, so Z is a fungus, not a plant.
Which of these are true of all mammals?
Answer: A, B and C only
Backbone, milk and hair are true of every mammal. Living on land is not: whales and dolphins never leave the water.
Based on the key above, which living thing could be a mushroom?
Answer: M
A mushroom cannot make its own food and has no backbone, so it is reached by answering no twice — which is M.
Which pair of plants both reproduce without producing seeds?
Answer: a fern and a moss
Ferns and mosses are non-flowering plants that reproduce by spores. Everything with a flower makes seeds.
Which two questions could be used in a classification key?
Answer: A and B only
A key question has to have one answer everyone would agree on. Counting legs and checking for a backbone qualify; being frightening or useful does not.
In the table above, Z cannot make its own food and reproduces by spores. Which group of living things does Z belong to?
Answer: fungi
Living things that reproduce by spores but cannot make their own food are the fungi.
Frogs and toads have moist skin, lay eggs in water, and their young breathe with gills before living on land. Which group do they belong to?
Answer: amphibians
Animals that begin life in water and live on land as adults are amphibians.
A newly discovered animal has a backbone, dry scaly skin, lays eggs on land, and cannot control its own body temperature. Which group does it belong to?
Answer: reptiles
Dry scales plus eggs laid on land is the reptile pattern, and it is shared by snakes, lizards, crocodiles and tortoises.