1

Comparing Life Cycles

4.10C – explore, illustrate, and compare life cycles in living organisms

5.10C – describe the differences between complete and incomplete metamorphosis of insects

2

Vocabulary

Cycle- A series of repeating events that usually lead back to a starting point.

Metamorphosis- A physical or structural change (transformation).

3

Life Cycle Table

Species Egg Larva / Nymph Pupa Adult

Housefly 8-12 hrs 5 days 4-5 days 2 weeks

Monarch Butterfly 4 days 2 weeks 10 days 2-6

weeks

Ladybug 4 days 2 weeks 2 weeks 3-9 months

4

Is this an example of complete or incomplete

metamorphosis? How do you know?

5

Is this an example of complete or incomplete

metamorphosis? How do you know?

6

Is this an example of complete or incomplete

metamorphosis? How do you know?

Life Cycle of a Cricket

Is this an example of complete or incomplete metamorphosis? How

do you know?

8

Life Cycle of a Frog

Eggs Tadpole Tadpole (back legs form)

Froglet Adult Frog

10 days

At 10 days the tadpole

leaves the egg.

At 8 weeks the back legs have formed.

At 12-14 weeks the tail

begins to disappear.

It takes about 3 years for the frog to reach adult hood.

9

Eggs

Tadpole

Tadpole with legs

Froglet

Adult Frog

10

Comparing Tadpoles to Frogs

Tadpoles Frogs

Tadpoles have gills. They lose their gills and breathe with lungs.

Tadpoles have tails. They lose their tails when they become frogs.

Tadpoles cannot reproduce. Frogs can reproduce.

Tadpoles cannot live on land. Frogs can live on land.

Life Cycle of a Bean Plant

1. Seed is planted

2. Seedling grows roots

3. Plant pushes above the soil; leaves begin to form

4. Plant is fully grown; bean pod begins to grow

Check your Understanding

1. What is the major difference between a complete metamorphosis and an incomplete metamorphosis?

2. What does this illustration show?

Complete metamorphosis has 4 stages and the hatched insect does not look anything like the adult it will become; incomplete metamorphosis is when the newly hatched insect looks like a smaller version of the adult.

The life cycle of a butterfly – complete metamorphosis

3. Describe the life cycle shown in this illustration.

4. What type of life cycle is described below?

Egg nymph adult

The acorn is the seed that gets planted in the ground. The seed grows into a sapling plant which then becomes the oak tree. The oak tree then drops acorns to the ground and the cycle begins again. Incomplete metamorphosis – only 3 stages