Lesson 55 of 84 · Structure and Function
Experiment⭐ 30 XPClassifying Living Things (Part 2)
Structure and Function.
🎯 Your mission
Set it up. Test it. Be amazed.
⚡ The twist
Nature loves to surprise the careful watcher.
Mind = Blown
🔬 The more you look, the more nature shows you.
Make a hypothesis first
Before you start: write down what you think will happen, and why.
What You'll Learn
Living things are organized into levels: cells form tissues, tissues form organs, organs form organ systems, and organ systems make up a complete organism.
Key Words
- metamorphosis
- germination
Materials Needed
- ruler
- magnifying glass
- paper towels
- markers
- tape
- small pots
Safety First
- Tie back long hair before starting the experiment.
- Protect your work surface with newspaper or plastic.
- Adult supervision recommended.
Steps
Review the background information on Structure and Function before starting.
Compare the skeletal structures of a bird wing, human arm, and whale flipper using diagrams. Identify homologous bones and write what this tells us about common ancestry.
Note any unexpected results and think about why they happened.
Share your findings with the class or a partner and discuss what you learned.
Check Your Understanding
Question 1
1 of 3What do all living things have in common?
Where you see this in real life
This shows up in your everyday life more than you'd think.
Stretch Challenge
Try this in real life this week.
Try one experiment in real life this week — even a tiny one.
For the dinner table
“What's the most surprising thing you learned today?”
Next Smart Experiment
We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.
Share this experiment
Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.
Checkout complete lesson on Structure and Function for 4th Grade
Get the full Structure and Function track as a printable PDF — all lessons, worksheets, and answer keys.