Evidence of Similarities and Differences



Name: ___________________________________ Date: ________________

Locomotion

The Skeleton

The framework of a house holds all of the parts of the house in place. It gives the house its shape. You have a framework of bones called a skeleton. Your skeleton supports your body. It gives shape to your body. Without a skeleton you would not be able to stand up.

Your skeleton is made up of 206 bones of different shapes and sizes. There are tiny bones in your fingers, and long bones in your arms and legs. All the bones are part of your skeletal system. The bones of the skeletal system work together with muscles to produce movement. People can walk, run, wave their arms, and jump. All these motions and others are possible because muscles move the bones of the skeleton.

The bones of the skeleton also protect the soft parts of your body. Your heart and lungs are protected by a cage of rib bones. Your brain is covered by a bony skull. Important parts of your body need extra protection.

Bones help the body in other ways. The bones of the skeleton store minerals that the body needs. These minerals help keep the bones and teeth strong.

Bones also make cells for the blood. These cells are made in the long bones, in the center of the bone. This special part of bones is called the marrow. It produces red blood cells, which are used by the circulatory system.

True or False

1. The skeleton gives your body shape. ____________________

2. A skeleton helps support your body. ____________________

3. The bones of skeleton store important minerals. ____________________

4. Bones can move without muscles. ____________________

5. The skeleton protects soft body parts. _____________________

Complete the sentences using the words in the box below.

|Bones |Muscles |Support |

|Framework |Protects | |

1. The skeleton is like the _______________________ of a house.

2. The skeleton is made up of 206 ____________________

3. Bones and ___________________ produce movement.

4. The skeleton ____________________ the soft parts of the body,

5. The body gets shape and ____________________ from the skeleton.

Use each word in a sentence about the skeletal system.

1. Skeleton. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

2. Bones. ____________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Questions.

1. What are FOUR things your skeleton does for your body? ___________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

2. What parts of your body are protected by your skeleton? ___________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

THINK ABOUT IT!

1. Name TWO systems that work with your musculoskeletal system and describe how they work together.

a. ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

b. ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________

Name: ___________________________________ Date: ________________

The Parts of the Skeleton

Bend forward and run your fingers down the middle of your back. Do you feel a line of bones? Each of the small bones you feel is called a vertebra. Many vertebrae are stacked on top of each other. This column of 26 vertebrae forms the backbone.

Each vertebra has a hole through the middle of it. The spinal cord goes through these holes. It is part of your nervous system. The spinal cord connects your brain with the other parts of your body. An injury to the spinal cord could prevent parts of the body from moving. The important job of the backbone is to protect the spinal cord.

Attached to the backbone are 12 pairs of bones. These bones, or ribs, curve around the front of the body. They form a kind of cage. The rib cage protects the heart and lungs. Ten of the bone pairs are attached to the breastbone at the front of the rib cage.

Another group of bones protects your eyes and brain. These bones form the skull. It may feel like there is only one large, round bone. But the skull is really made up of many bones. The bones of your face are also part of the skull.

True or False

1. The skull is shaped like a cage. ____________________

2. The backbone is made up of many vertebrae. ____________________

3. The brain is protected by the backbone. ____________________

4. The ribs protect the spinal cord. ____________________

5. The ribs are part of the skeletal system. _____________________

Circle the letter for the correct answer.

1. The vertebra is part of the _________________.

a. skull b. backbone c. rib cage

2. The ribs are attached to the ____________________.

a. skull b. brain c. backbone

3. A group of bones that protects the brain is the _______________________.’

a. skull b. backbone c. rib cage

4. The backbone is made of many _________________.

a. cords b. ribs c. vertebrae

5. The part of the skeleton that protects the spinal cord is the __________________________.

a. rib cage b. skull c. backbone

6. The ______________ is the part of the skeleton that protects the heart.

a. skull b. rib cage c. backbone

Questions.

1. What is the important job of the rib cage? _______________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

2. What are the bones of the backbone called? _____________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

3. Name the important job of the skull. ____________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

4. What is the important job of the backbone? ______________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

THINK ABOUT IT!

1. What would happen if your backbone (and spinal cord) was injured at your waist? (Use the words stimulus and response in your answer). __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Name: ___________________________________ Date: ________________

Joints

You would not be able to move your body without joints. A joint is a place where two bones come together. At every joint, bones are held together by strong threadlike tissues called ligaments. Together, joints and ligaments let bones move.

There are three main kinds of moveable joints in the body. Hinge joints work like the hinge of a door. They can bend back and forth in only one direction. You have hinge joints in your elbows and your knees. You also have hinge joints in your fingers and toes. These joints let you move all the many small bones in your hands and feet.

Your head is connected to your backbone by a pivot joint. A pivot joint can move around and back. This joint lets you twist your head around and look over your shoulder. You can also bend your head backward and forward.

Remember that your elbow has a hinge joint. But it also has a pivot joint. This joint lets your arm twist so you can do things like turn a doorknob.

The joint that allows the most movement is a ball and socket joint. It can move in all directions. In a ball and socket joint, the end of one bone is curved like a ball. It fits into the curved space at the end of the other bone. Your shoulders and hips have this kind of joint. A ball and socket joint can move in a complete circle. This lets you make the movements to throw a baseball or swim.

Circle the letter for the correct answer.

1. Bones come together at ____________________.

a. ligaments b. joints c. elbows

2. Hinge joints bend in ____________________.

a. one direction b. many directions c. circles

3. Your fingers have ____________________.

a. hinge joints b. ball and socket joints c. no joints

4. Bones are held together by ____________________.

a. blood vessels b. nerves c. ligaments

Label the joints in the diagrams.

Use each phrase in a sentence that explains how your body moves.

1. hinge joint. ________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

2. ball and socket joint. ________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

THINK ABOUT IT!

1. What would happen if ligaments were stretchy? ___________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

2. Why are joints necessary? ____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Name: ___________________________________ Date: ________________

The Muscular System

How do you throw a ball or write your name? Your body uses more than 100 muscles to make these movements. But before you can move your arm you have to think about the motion. The skeletal muscles move because your brain tells them to move. That is why the skeletal muscles that a person can choose to move are called voluntary muscles.

You have two other kinds of muscles in your body. They are smooth muscles and cardiac muscle. The three kinds of muscle look different from each other. They also have different jobs to do. Look at the skeletal muscles. They look like strands of rubber bands, which can stretch out and then pull back.

Smooth muscles are found in large blood vessels. They help to control the flow of blood through the blood vessels. Smooth muscles are also important tin the digestion of food. They move the walls of the esophagus so you swallow food and they move the walls of the stomach as it churns food. This movement is called peristalsis, or the wave-like motion of smooth muscles.

You can see by looking at them why they are called smooth muscles. The muscles fit together tightly forming a smooth passage.

Cardiac muscles have a very special job to do. They make your heart beat and pump blood to other parts of the body. Heart muscles work all the time, even when you are sleeping. When you look at these, you can see a combination of skeletal and smoother muscles. Some muscle cells are long and stretchy to keep your heart contracting. And between them are smooth muscles to keep everything flowing through the heart.

Smooth muscles and cardiac muscles are different from skeletal muscles in another important way. They are involuntary muscles. You cannot consciously control them. You do not have to think about digesting your food. Your stomach muscles do their job. You do not have to think about your heart to keep it pumping.

True or False

1. Skeletal muscles are involuntary. ____________________

2. Digesting food is involuntary. ____________________

3. The brain tells voluntary muscles what to do. ____________________

4. The brain tells involuntary muscles what to do. ____________________

5. Smooth muscles move bones. ____________________

6. Thinking can control the heart. _____________________

Label the diagrams.

[pic]

Questions.

1. What are two functions of smooth muscles? _______________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

2. Which muscles are called voluntary muscles? _____________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

3. What do cardiac muscles do? __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

THINK ABOUT IT!

1. What is the difference between voluntary and involuntary movement? (use the words medulla, cerebrum, and cerebellum in your answer) __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________

Bones of Mammals

Sometimes we forget that humans are mammals, and that our structures are very similar to those of other mammals. A physician and a veterinarian even use the same names for the bones of a human and a dog, as well as for the bones of many other mammals.

Below are diagrams of two skeletons – one of a dog and one of a human being. The diagram of a dog is labeled with the names of the bones. These same names are used for human bones. The bones of a human may be in a slightly different position or have a slightly different shape.

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