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Site for kids to get information about animals.

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Vertebrates are the most advanced organisms on Earth. The traits that make all of the animals in this section special are their spinal cords, vertebrae, and notochords. It's all about having a series of nerves along your back (dorsal side). If you are an organism, you can't just have the nerves sitting there. You need to give those nerves support and protection. That need brings us to the backbones and a rod of cartilage called the notochord.

Fifty thousand species might seem like a lot. Compared to the invertebrates, there are not that many species of vertebrates. You might be asking why. One reason is that vertebrates are usually larger than invertebrates. They need more space. Another reason is that, even though they are more advanced, there are many limitations on the environments that are available to them.

Think about it this way. If you are smart mammal, would you rather live near the ocean or in the frozen tundra of the arctic? Many land animals can make that decision and move to more desirable areas for living. Those nicer areas can only support so many species of animals.

Vertebrates are smart. Some of them are very smart. We mean you. Most vertebrates have very advanced nervous systems. While a goldfish might not compare to your intelligence, when you compare a goldfish to a sea anemone, a goldfish is like Einstein. Octopi are probably the smartest invertebrates and may equal or be smarter than some vertebrates. Octopi are the exception in the invertebrate category.

More cool traits about vertebrates are that they have muscles and skeletons. While the materials may vary, muscles allow vertebrates to move around very efficiently and perform complex moves. That ability to move and the intelligence to go with it gives vertebrates such as reptiles and birds an advantage in the natural world.

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Vertebrates are the most advanced organisms on Earth. The traits that make all of the animals in this section special are their spinal cords, vertebrae, and notochords. It's all about having a series of nerves along your back (dorsal side). If you are an organism, you can't just have the nerves sitting there.

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Comparing the two phyla of animals.

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The animal kingdom is classified under two major groups, the vertebrates and invertebrates. The following article attempts to help you understand the differences between these groups.

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The animal kingdom is classified under two major groups, the vertebrates and invertebrates. The following article attempts to help you understand the differences between these groups.

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Information on animal diversity

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The Animal Diversity Web is an online database and encyclopedia of animal natural history, built through contributions from students, photographers, and many others.

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This site is very interactive for kids to learn about the different types of rocks and the rock cycle.

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Interactives . The Rock Cycle . The Rock Cycle

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The concept of the rock cycle is attributed to James Hutton (1726-1797), the 18th-century founder of modern geology. The main idea is that rocks are continually changing from one type to another and back again, as forces inside the earth bring them closer to the surface (where they are weathered, eroded, and compacted) and forces on the earth sink them back down (where they are heated, pressed, and melted).

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Great site for information on the rock cycle

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The rock cycle is an illustration that is used to explain how the three rock types are related to each other and how Earth processes change a rock from one type to another through geologic time. Plate tectonic movement is responsible for the recycling of rock materials and is the driving force of the rock cycle.

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Great resource for kids and the periodic table and elements

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Chem4Kids.com: Elements & Periodic Table

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Chem4Kids.com! This tutorial introduces basics of elements and their organization. Other sections include matter, elements, reactions, and biochemistry.

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Kahn Academy gives a great synopsis of the atomic theory.

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How did we get here? Well, in terms of Atomic Chemistry, Hank takes us on a tour of the folks that were part of the long chain of other folks who helped us get to these deeper understandings of the world. From Leucippus to Heisenberg to you - yes, YOU - the story of Atomic Chemistry is all wibbly-wobbly...

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This site gives great information for continental drift and plate tectonics.

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Wegener was a German meteorologist, geophysicist and polar researcher. In 1915 he published ' The Origin of Continents and Oceans', which outlined his theory of Continental Drift.

Wegener was a member of four expeditions to Greenland. In 1930 he visited Greenland for the last time, where he died shortly after his fiftieth birthday.

Wegener's theory of Continental Drift was met with scepticism by many scientists. Although he had a lot of evidence to support the theory, he could not explain how the plates moved. It would be almost half a century before this problem began to be solved.

Wegener supported his Continental Drift idea with 5 lines of evidence:

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One of the most important contributions to the development of plate tectonic theory was Alfred Wegener's 1915 publication of 'The origin of continents and oceans' which outlined his theory of Continental Drift. Wegener supported his argument with five lines of evidence.

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This is another site for information on biomes.

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These exhibits explore the ancestor/descendant relationships which connect all organisms, past and present.

The importance of biomes cannot be overestimated. Biomes have changed and moved many times during the history of life on Earth. More recently, human activities have drastically altered these communities. Thus, conservation and preservation of biomes should be a major concern to all.

Hopefully, this page will increase your general knowledge of biomes. For further information, please consult the references page.

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These exhibits explore the ancestor/descendant relationships which connect all organisms, past and present. The importance of biomes cannot be overestimated. Biomes have changed and moved many times during the history of life on Earth. More recently, human activities have drastically altered these communities. Thus, conservation and preservation of biomes should be a major concern to all.

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This site gives great information to the land biomes here on Earth.

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Biomes are regions of the world with similar climate (weather, temperature) animals and plants. There are
Aquatic Biomes | Terrestrial Biomes | What are biomes? GAMES! terrestrial biomes (land) and
aquatic biomes , both freshwater and marine.

Would you like to know what the weather is like in different biomes around the world? How about the types of plants and animals that live in these biomes? Here you will find all sorts of information about the world's biomes.
Games
How many biomes are there? There is really no completely right answer to this question. Some people say there are only 5 major types of biomes: aquatic, desert, forest, grassland, and tundra. Others split biomes further. Forests are separated into rainforest, temperate forest, chaparral, and taiga; grasslands are divided into savanna and temperate grasslands; and the aquatic biome is split into freshwater and marine.
Kids Konnect: Biomes Enchanted Learning: Biomes ThinkQuest: Biomes Major Biomes of the World NASA - Mission: Biomes World Biomes
Links to more information:
Back to Biomes Index

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Biomes are regions of the world with similar climate (weather, temperature) animals and plants. There are Aquatic Biomes | Terrestrial Biomes | What are biomes? GAMES! terrestrial biomes (land) and aquatic biomes , both freshwater and marine. Would you like to know what the weather is like in different biomes around the world?