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Worksheet: vertebrates and invertebrates (with answer key)
Printable worksheet: sort Indonesian animals into vertebrates or invertebrates and their groups, answer short questions, then check the key.
This worksheet is ready to print: use your browser’s print command (Ctrl+P or ⌘P). The answer key for teachers is at the end and starts on a new sheet when printed. The full lesson is on the lesson page. Vertebrates and invertebrates: features and examples
Phase D · Grade 7; Phase D · IPAPhase D · Grades 7–9 (Phase D) · IPA
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Learning goals
- Students can explain the difference between vertebrates and invertebrates by whether the animal has a backbone.
- Students can sort Indonesian animals into the five vertebrate groups and the main invertebrate groups.
- Students can use a simple dichotomous key to identify an animal's group from a picture.
- Students can explain tricky examples such as the pangolin, the Irrawaddy dolphin and the echidna.
Short reading
Vertebrates are animals with a backbone, such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Invertebrates are animals without a backbone, such as insects, worms, snails, crabs, jellyfish and sea stars. 90% or more of animal species are invertebrates.
- Vertebrates are animals with a backbone, a chain of small bones (vertebrae) running along the back.
- Invertebrates are animals without a backbone, and they make up 90% or more of all animal species.
- At school, vertebrates are sorted into five groups: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
- The main invertebrate groups are sponges, cnidarians, worms, molluscs, arthropods and echinoderms.
- Not all invertebrates are soft: insects and crabs have an outer skeleton, and snails and clams have shells.
- Komodo dragons, flying foxes and whale sharks are vertebrates; dragonflies, coconut crabs and giant clams are invertebrates.
Activity 1
Write whether each animal is a vertebrate or an invertebrate, then name its group.
| No | Animal | Your answer |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Komodo dragon | |
| 2 | Crab-eating frog | |
| 3 | Whale shark | |
| 4 | Barn owl | |
| 5 | Large flying fox | |
| 6 | Sunda pangolin | |
| 7 | Dragonfly | |
| 8 | Coconut crab | |
| 9 | Giant clam | |
| 10 | Crown-of-thorns starfish | |
| 11 | Earthworm | |
| 12 | Jellyfish |
Activity 2
- What is the main feature that separates vertebrates from invertebrates?
- Name the five vertebrate groups with one Indonesian example of each.
- Crabs have a hard shell. Why are they still invertebrates?
- Why are amphibians said to live a double life?
- Give one animal that is often put in the wrong group and explain its correct group.
Reflection
Which animal surprised you most today, and why?
Write one new question about vertebrates or invertebrates that you would like to find out.
How can you watch animals near your home without disturbing them?
Answer key (for teachers)
Activity 1
- Komodo dragon: Vertebrate – reptile
- Crab-eating frog: Vertebrate – amphibian
- Whale shark: Vertebrate – fish (cartilaginous)
- Barn owl: Vertebrate – bird
- Large flying fox: Vertebrate – mammal
- Sunda pangolin: Vertebrate – mammal
- Dragonfly: Invertebrate – arthropod (insect)
- Coconut crab: Invertebrate – arthropod (crustacean)
- Giant clam: Invertebrate – mollusc
- Crown-of-thorns starfish: Invertebrate – echinoderm
- Earthworm: Invertebrate – segmented worm (Annelida)
- Jellyfish: Invertebrate – cnidarian
Activity 2
- What is the main feature that separates vertebrates from invertebrates? Whether the animal has a backbone. Vertebrates have one; invertebrates do not.
- Name the five vertebrate groups with one Indonesian example of each. Fish (whale shark), amphibians (crab-eating frog), reptiles (Komodo dragon), birds (Bali myna), mammals (Sumatran orangutan). Other correct examples are accepted.
- Crabs have a hard shell. Why are they still invertebrates? A crab's shell is an outer skeleton of chitin, not a backbone. Crabs have no backbone.
- Why are amphibians said to live a double life? Because tadpoles live in water and breathe with gills, while adult frogs breathe air and can live on land.
- Give one animal that is often put in the wrong group and explain its correct group. Example: the Irrawaddy dolphin is a mammal, not a fish, because it breathes air and feeds its young on milk. Other correct answers: the pangolin (a scaly mammal) or the echidna (an egg-laying mammal).
Sources: SIBI Kemendikdasmen, data katalog resmi: Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam untuk SMP/MTs Kelas VII (Edisi Revisi), daftar bab ↗ · Keputusan Kepala BSKAP Kemendikdasmen No. 046/H/KR/2025 tentang Capaian Pembelajaran, Lampiran II: CP IPA Fase D ↗ · Animal Diversity Web (University of Michigan): Vertebrata ↗ · Australian Museum: What are invertebrates? ↗ · UC Museum of Paleontology (Berkeley): Introduction to the Vertebrates ↗ · Animal Diversity Web: Hemidactylus frenatus ↗ · UC Museum of Paleontology (Berkeley): Introduction to the Chondrichthyes ↗ · UC Museum of Paleontology (Berkeley): Introduction to the Arthropoda ↗ · UC Museum of Paleontology (Berkeley): The Mollusca ↗ · Animal Diversity Web: Hapalochlaena lunulata ↗ · Australian Museum: What is a fish? ↗ · Animal Diversity Web: Actinopterygii ↗
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