Skip to content
MeerkatSkool Afrikaans
Summaries · Grade 7 Natural Sciences › Vertebrates, invertebrates and plant groups
Free summary · Grade 7 Natural Sciences

Vertebrates, invertebrates and plant groups

Vertebrates and invertebrates, plant groups, variation and the dichotomous key. Read one part at a time and tap “I know this”. Then test yourself in the quiz.

Know it already? Jump straight to the quiz

Your progress0 of 3

Vertebrates

ClassFeature
FishGills, scales, fins
AmphibiansMoist skin; young live in water
ReptilesDry, scaly skin; lay eggs on land
BirdsFeathers and a beak; warm-blooded
MammalsHair; feed young on milk; warm-blooded
Tap when you could tell someone without looking.

Plant groups

GroupHow it reproduces
MossesSpores; no true roots or water tubes, so in damp shade
FernsSpores
Conifers (gymnosperms)Seeds in cones
Flowering plants (angiosperms)Seeds inside a fruit
From moss to flowering plant in an indigenous forest.
From moss to flowering plant in an indigenous forest.
Tap when you could tell someone without looking.

Keys and variation

A dichotomous key asks a question with two answers each time, until you reach the organism’s name. A horse and a donkey are not one species: their young (a mule) usually cannot have young. An indigenous forest usually has very high biodiversity, which gives us food, medicine and water.

Tap when you could tell someone without looking.

Remember this and test yourself

Remember this: your summary
  • Five classes of vertebrates: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals; birds and mammals are warm-blooded.
  • Arthropods (insects, arachnids, crustaceans, millipedes) have jointed legs and a hard exoskeleton; a spider has 8 legs, an insect 6.
  • Mosses and ferns reproduce with spores; conifers bear seeds in cones; angiosperms have flowers and fruit.
  • Variation is differences within one species; eye colour is inherited.
  • A dichotomous key uses either-or questions: “Does it have a backbone?”

Write these points in your book. Read them again the night before the test.

Memory trick

Vertebrates: F-A-R-B-M: “Five Apes Ride Big Motorbikes.” (Fish, Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds, Mammals)

Flash cards · Tap to turn over

Important words

First say what the word means, then turn the card over.

Test yourself · Part 2

True or false?

Read the question and the answer. Is the answer right? Tap True or False.

    Now the real quiz!

    The quiz has many more questions on this topic. Every question shows straight away whether you are right and explains why.

    Take the quiz: Vertebrates, invertebrates and plant groups
    All Grade 7 Natural Sciences summaries
    For parents
    • Read one part together and ask your child to tell it back in their own words.
    • The ticks (“I know this”) are saved on this device only. We never ask for names or emails.

    Follows CAPS for Grade 7 Natural Sciences. Always check your teacher’s notes and textbook too.

    Free PDF