Common Characteristics Of All Animals:

1. Animals cannot make their own food. They depend on

other living things in the environment for food. Animals may
feed on plants, other animals, or a combination of plants and
animals. They have adaptations that allow them to eat
particular kinds of food.
2. Many animals move from place to place. Most animals
move freely from place to place throughout their lives. They
usually move to meet their basic needs, survive, and
reproduce.
3. Animals digest their food. They cannot directly use
proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in food. Food must be
broken down into molecules small enough for their bodies to
absorb and use.
4. Animals have many cells. They are
multicellular living things. Different
cells carry out different functions such
as digestion of food, reproduction,
and elimination of wastes.
5. Animal cells are eukaryotic. Each of
their cells has a nucleus and
organelles surrounded by a
membrane.
When classifying animals, the first
thing scientist do is to check if a
particular animal has a backbone.
An animal with a backbone is
called a VERTEBRATE. An animal
without a backbone is called
INVERTEBRATE.
The next thing scientists look for
a particular animal is a body
plan. The body plan of an
animal usually follows a certain
symmetry. Some animals have
RADIAL SYMMETRY--- body parts
are arranged in a circle around
a central point.
The bodies of some animals are characterized by
BILATERAL SYMMETRY. Means that the their body
parts are arranged in the same way on both
sides. The term bilateral is derived from a Latin
word for two sides.
An animal body that follows bilateral
symmetry has a definite front, or anterior
end and a definite back, or posterior end.
The upperside of an animal is its dorsal side;
the lower side is its ventral side.
There are some animals with asymmetrical
bodies -----having no definite shape. There is
no way the bodies of these animals can be
divided into matching halves.
Exercise A: Identify if it is vertebrate or invertebrate.
1. clam
2. kangaroo
3. human
4. starfish
5. crab
6. snail
7. giraffe
8. lobster
9. horse
1o. monkey
 Exercise B: Determine whether it is radial symmetry,
bilateral symmetry, or asymmetrical body plans.

Spider
Coral
polyp
Ant
Fiddler
crab
Sea
urchins
Exercise C: Write T if the sentence is True F if the
sentence is False.

1. Animals can make their own foods.

2. Animals usually move to meet their
needs. Survive, and reproduce.
3. Animals can directly use proteins,
fats, and carbohydrates in food.
4. Animals have many cells.
5. Animal cells are eukaryotic.