Endoskeleton

High school (ages 12+)
Human Body

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/endoskeleton

1. What is the scientific classification?
2. What is the primary clades with endoskeletons?
3. What is an endoskeleton and why is it important?
4. How does an endoskeleton help animals grow bigger than those with exoskeletons?

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific classification?Endoskeleton (from Ancient Greek ἔνδον 'inside' and σκελετός 'skeleton')
2. What is the primary clades with endoskeletons?Vertebrates (bone/cartilage), Cephalochordates (notochordal), Sponges (spicules), Echinoderms (ossicles)
3. What is an endoskeleton and why is it important?An endoskeleton is the internal framework inside animals, made of bone and cartilage, that keeps them upright and lets them move like superheroes.
4. How does an endoskeleton help animals grow bigger than those with exoskeletons?Because it grows inside the body, animals can keep getting bigger without having to shed a hard outer shell, so big animals like whales and dinosaurs can exist.

Chordates: A phylum of animals that possess, or at some stage possess, a notochord and a dorsal nerve cord.
Convergent Evolution: The independent evolution of similar features in species of different lineages.
Hydrostatic Skeleton: A fluid-filled cavity surrounded by muscles, providing support and movement, common in soft-bodied invertebrates.