To study animals more easily, scientists have divided them into two (2) major groups. An animal with a backbone is called a vertebrate, and an animal without a backbone is called an invertebrate. Invertebrates live almost everywhere on Earth. 

Invertebrates make up 97% of all animals and are classified into several smaller groups. The largest group of invertebrates are called arthropods. Animals that have many of the same characteristics, or traits, are classified in the same group. Jellyfish, spiders, Insects, starfish, sponges, worms, crabs, octopus, crawfish and centipedes are all invertebrates. There are 6 groups of invertebrates. They are arthropods, stinging cells, mollusks, sponges, echinoderms and worms.

A mollusk is an Invertebrate that has a soft body. One trait or characteristic that most mollusks share is a body that has three (3) parts: head, foot and body mass. Sense organs are found in the head. The foot is used for crawling, swimming or digging. The body mass contains the heart and other organs. A mantle covers the organs. The mantle is a fleshy covering that protects the organs. In most mollusks, the mantle produces materials that form one or two shells. The conch, octopus, squid, snail and oyster are examples of mollusks.

There are 3 types/groups of mollusks: 

 No shell/cephalopods: These  mollusks have no shell covering the outside of its body (e.g. slug, octopus, squid) 

 One shell/gastropods: These mollusks have one shell. 

The shell has a “trapdoor” covering the opening. The animal can pull its head back into the opening and the trap door closes.  In this way, the animal is protected from enemies. The queen conch is an example of a mollusk that is used in many Bahamian dishes. Other examples of mollusks nclude, snails, curds, whelks. 

 Two shells/bivalves:  

These mollusks have a double shell that is hinged. They get their food by filtering it from the water. Tube like parts are used for feeding (e.g. oyster, clam, mussel, scallops).  

Stinging cell animals have stinging cells that contain poisonous threads. The body is shaped like a hollow sac. The opening or mouth of the sac is surrounded by tentacles. A tentacle is an arm-like part that contains the stinging cells. Stinging cells help protect the animal and catch food. Stinging cells work when a small animal brushes against a tentacle. The poisonous threads are released from the stinging cells. The poison stuns or kills the animal. The tentacles then bring it into the mouth. s that cell Stinging-cell animals include jellyfish, hydra and sea anemone.

 Nutrition is providing the body with chemicals called nutrients that the body needs to stay healthy and to carry out its functions (do work). 

 Nutrients are materials the body uses for making new tissue, protecting our systems and giving us energy. 

 There are many different nutrients that the body needs. Proteins, vitamins, minerals, fiber and carbohydrates are nutrients. 

A nutritional deficiency is the lack of a certain nutrient in the diet. These deficiencies can cause the blood to carry less oxygen than the body needs or can cause anemia, which is a lack of iron. 

 To get the correct amount of nutrients, we need to eat a wide variety of foods. 

 Foods are divided into groups according to the nutrients they contain. 

 The main food groups are: 

1. fats/oils; 

2. meats, fish & alternative; 

3. milk, cheese and diary; 

4. fruits & vegetables; 

5. bread and cereal. 

 All the foods we eat make up our diet. 

 A balanced diet includes all the nutrients the body needs to function. To eat a balanced diet, we should eat foods from each of the food groups every  day.

If you take in more food than your body needs, the body stores it as fat. Being overweight can damage your health. Overweight or obese people can develop high blood pressure, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes Water: Your body also needs water. You should drink 6 to 8 glasses of water a day. Water helps to:  

transport nutrients to the cells;  

build new cells;  

keep body temperature stable;  

carry waste out of the body;  

keeps joints moving smoothly. 

Fiber is a nutrient helps food move through the digestive system and prevents some forms of cancer.

Plants are living things that need water, air, sunlight and soil to grow.  There are two main groups of plants. They are seed plants and non-seed plants. 

Seed Plants  Plants that grow new plants from their seeds.  A seed is a part of a plant from which a new plant can grow.  Some examples of seed plants are hibiscus, mango trees, peas trees, and pine trees.  Many seed plants have flowers, like the hibiscus. They are called flowering plants (angiosperms). 

Pine trees do not have flowers, but they have cones. The seeds are found inside of the cones. Non Seed Plants  Not every plant grows from a seed. Some plants like ferns and mosses grow from spores. These plants are called non-seed plants.  The spores are especially made to survive drought (very little rain/water) and other harsh conditions 

Seed plants with flowers are called flowering plants (angiosperms). • There are two groups of flowering plants. They are monocotyledons (monocot) and dicotyledons (dicots). • Flowering plants are classified (grouped) as either monocots or dicots because of the number of seed leaves they produce. • A seed leaf is found inside of the seed. It is also called a cotyledon. 

Cotyledons are the first leaves to appear when the plant begins to grow. 

Monocots • 

Monocots are flowering plants with the following traits or characteristics:  

One seed leaf  

Narrow shape leaves  

Parallel veins  

Flowers in threes  

Have a tap root system 

Examples of monocot plants include corn, grasses, banana trees, orchids, rice, onions. 

Dicots:  

Two seed leaves

Broad shaped leaves

Network of veins

Flowers in fours or fives 

Have a fibrous root system 

Examples of dicot plants are hibiscus, apple trees, cabbage, roses, mango trees, peas trees 

Fossils are the remains or traces of past life found in sedimentary rock. Scientists called paleontologists study fossils. Wood, bones, teeth and shells are preserved or saved by being buried. As the sediments harden, the remains become trapped in rock and form fossils. 

Some fossils show changes dead animals made in their surroundings. These are called trace fossils. Tracks, burrows, droppings and worm holes are some examples of trace fossils. They tell how an animal might have moved, how big or small it was, and it might have eaten. 

A mold is an imprint made by the outside of a dead plant or animal. A moud forms when water washes animal or plant remains out of rocks. Sometimes sediments or minerals fill a mold and form a cast. Whole plants or animals can become fossilized. These can be trapped by sap from trees, glacier ice or tar pits. When fossils are discovered, they are excavated or dug out and studied. 

The layer of air that surrounds our planet is called the atmosphere. The job of the atmosphere is to protect the Earth from anything that may fall from the sky.

The atmosphere has several layers:

Troposphere: the layer that is closest to the Earth. This is the air we play, work, live in and breathe. Most weather conditions happen here.  

Stratosphere: the second layer. It contains ozone, a special gas that protects Earth from ultraviolet rays from the sun. 

Mesosphere: the third layer and is the coldest layer where meteoroids (shooting stars) blow up.  

Thermosphere: the fourth layer and is the hottest layer. 

 Ionosphere: the layer that begins in the mesosphere and extends upward through the thermosphere. It contains electrically charged particles called ions. This layer plays an important role in making radio and television communications possible.  

Exosphere: the sixth layer. It is also known as outer space. In this layer the planets, moons, stars and other celestial objects are found. 

Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a specific time and place. Conditions that affect weather are temperature, air pressure, wind, humidity and precipitation. Climate is the average weather conditions over a period of time. Weather conditions affect people in many ways, including:  the food they eat;  the clothing they wear;  housing;  transportation;  the length of day/night;  storms and other natural disasters. 

The amount of heat in a substance or how hot or cold something might be is called temperature. We can measure the amount of heat in a substance by using a thermometer. A thermometer measures heat on a scale called a degree. Two different scales are used on thermometers. One scale is called the Celsius scale and the other is called Fahrenheit. Measurements made on the Celsius scale are shown as OC and on the Fahrenheit scale as OF. 

On the Celsius scale, water freezes at 0OC and boils at 100OC. On the Fahrenheit scale water freezes at 32OF and boils at 212OF. The human body temperature measures at 37oC and between 98.2oF- 98.6oF Wind speed is how fast the wind is moving, and the direction of the wind is measured using an anemometer or a wind sock Precipitation (rain, hail, sleet, snow) is any form of water that falls from the sky and is measured using a rain gauge. 

The sun and the bodies that move around it form the solar system. Planets and moons are part of the solar system.  A planet is one of the eight large bodies that move around the sun.  A moon is a body that moves around a planet.  Most objects in the solar system travel in orbits around the sun. An orbit is a path on which an object travels as it moves around another planet. 

A planet’s orbit is the oval-shaped path the planet travels around the sun. All planets are in motion. They revolve or move in orbits around the sun. The movement of a planet along its orbit around the sun is called revolution. A planet’s year is the time it takes that planet to complete one orbit or one revolution around the sun. It takes planet Earth 365 1/4 days to revolve around the sun. The seasons are a result of revolution. Planets rotate or spin like a top. An axis is a straight line that runs through an object. The turning or spinning of a planet on its axis is rotation. The time it takes a planet to rotate once on its axis is a planet’s day. The time of rotation differs from planet to planet, so the length of a day also differs. Night and day are the result of rotation. 

The Sun The sun is in the center of the solar system. It is a star. It is 93 million miles away from the Earth. Stars are the only bodies that give off radiant energy. It is a ball of burning gases and molten material. The sun is the only star in the solar system but there are millions of stars in the universe. We can only see a small portion of them with our naked eyes. Some stars seem to shine brighter than others. This is because they are closer to the Earth or because they give off more radiant energy. The sun provides heat and light to all of the planets. There would be no life on Earth if the sun stopped giving off radiant energy. Energy from the sun warms the Earth and allows green plants to turn raw materials into food (photosynthesis). Gravity on the sun is very strong. This is because of its great size. The entire solar system can fit inside the sun. Gravity is the force of one object’s pull on another. The sun’s gravity helps hold all the objects in the solar system in place or in orbit. 

People who study the stars are called Astronomers. Astronomers classify stars by their surface temperatures, colour and brightness. There are several well-known stars that can be seen in the night sky. Some are arranged in the shape of animals and objects. A group of stars such as these is called a constellation. Some common constellations are the Southern Cross, Great Dipper, Little Dipper, Orion and the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac. 

Another object in space is called an asteroid. This is a chunk of rock found mainly between Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid belt orbits the sun.  

Another space object is the comet. Comets are made up of rocks, frozen water, frozen gas and dust. When a comet gets close to the sun you will be able to see a long glowing tail or coma. This coma consists of particles ejected from the comet as the sun’s heat vaporizes the frozen components. 

Meteoroids, Meteors & Meteorites  There are many other bodies found in outer space. The most common is the meteoroid. It is a mass of metal or stone moving through space.  Sometimes meteoroids fall to the Earth. When they enter Earth’s atmosphere, they burst into fire. The streak of light produced passes through Earth’s atmosphere and is called a meteor or a shooting star.  If any part of a meteor survives and reaches the Earth, it is called a meteorite. 

Matter is anything that takes up space and has mass. There are three (3) states of matter. They are solid, liquid and gas. 

Matter can be classified as a mixture or as a substance. 

A substance is something made up of only one kind of matter. A mixture is made up of two or more different substances. The substances do not change by being mixed. (E.g. conch salad, birdseed, cheeseburger, tossed salad, air). Mixtures can be separated easily using our fingers, a sieve, rake, shaking or filtering.

A solution is a special mixture. It is made up of two (2) different substances. One substance is dissolved or melted in the other substance. 

Energy is the power to do work. It is the ability to cause change. Work is done when the position of an object is changed either by using a pushing, lifting, pulling. dragging or dropping force. The object may be at rest or in motion when a force is applied to it. The force that is used to affect an object is produced when energy is used. There are many different forms of energy. Heat, light, chemical, sound and electrical energy are some forms of energy. Each form of energy can exist as energy in motion or energy at rest (stored energy).

Potential Energy One form of energy is potential energy. It is the energy of position or condition. It is stored energy.  A rock at the top of a hill has potential energy because of its position.  Water stored behind a dam has potential energy because of its condition.  A stretched rubber band has potential energy because of its condition. Kinetic Energy Potential energy can be changed to kinetic energy. This is the energy of motion.  If a rock rolls down a hill, the potential energy of the rock is changed to kinetic energy.  If a dam bursts, the water behind it will flow. The stored energy is changed to kinetic energy.  If the rubber band is released, the potential energy it had in its stretched condition is changed to kinetic energy as the rubber band springs back. Energy Transfer Many times, potential energy is changed to kinetic energy. When a form of energy changes into another form of energy, it is called an energy transfer. 

POTENTIAL ENERGY

 KINETIC ENERGY 

WORK IS DONE 

Examples of Energy Transfer  A light bulb can change from electrical energy to light energy and then to heat energy.  A moving car can change from mechanical energy to kinetic energy and then to sound energy and later heat energy.  

People use machines to do work. 

A simple machine is a tool that has little or no moving parts. A simple machine is a device that changes the size or direction of a force. Simple machines make a task easier to do. 

There are six (6) kinds of simple machines. They are wedges, screws, inclined planes, levers, wheel and axles and pulleys. Examples of simple machines include a hammer, pliers, scissors, nutcracker, wrench, can opener, egg-beater, fishing rod, piano keys, paddle, scooter, broom, seesaw and a wheelbarrow.

Screws are inclined planes wrapped around a pole. Examples of screws include jar lids, screws and spiral staircase. A pulley is a type of simple machine. It is made up of a rope or chain and a wheel around which the rope fits. When you pull down on one rope end, the wheel turns and the other rope end moves up. A pulley that stays in one place is called a fixed pulley. It is used to raise and lower something lightweight such as a flag or a small sail. 

The other kind of pulley is called a moveable pulley. It is free to move up and down. One end of the rope is tied down. The load is hooked to the pulley. Pulling upon the rope makes both the pulley and the load rise. 

A wheel and axle is a simple machine that is made up of a large wheel attached to a smaller wheel or rod. A doorknob is part of a wheel and axle. The large, round knob turns the smaller axle. The axle is what pulls in the latch to open the door. Without the large knob, it would be difficult to turn the axle. The small effort force you use to turn the knob becomes a large resulting force put out by the axle. 

A compound machine is a machine made up of two (2) or more simple machines. Some examples of a compound machine include a can opener, a wheelbarrow, a clock, a fishing pole and a bicycle. 

The Spiny Lobsters, better known as crawfish in The Bahamas, is one in a family of over 45 species of achelate crustaceans. They reproduce in the clean, clear tropical waters of the Bahamas from August 1st through March 31st. Lobsters live in crevices of rocks and coral reefs where they hide during the day. At night, they forage for snails, clams, crabs, and sea urchins. Lobsters are known to migrate in masses across the sea floor. Up to 50 lobsters migrate in one line. They use their antennae to stay together. Potential predators may be deterred because of the loud screech made as the antennae (whip) of one lobster rubs against a smooth part of the exoskeleton of another. When disturbed, they can swim backwards rapidly using the powerful strokes of their tails. Lobsters navigate by using the smell and taste of natural substances in the water Male lobsters have a padded opening at the base of each last leg. Female lobsters have two extra claws or “spurs” at the tip of each last leg which are used to scrape and release the sperm to fertilize the eggs. The protection of marine resources may take the form of habitat protection and restoration, regulations and the enforcement of fisheries laws or a public education and awareness campaign to emphasize the importance of marine biodiversity and foster a conservation effort. 

In The Bahamas, Queen Conch, a large shelled mollusk, has an important cultural and economic role. However, it is vulnerable to overfishing because it a huge food source for Bahamians and it matures and moves slowly. 

It has a large orangish shell exterior with a shiny, rosy, pink interior shell. The mollusk has a mottled gray head with a large proboscis (like a nose or beak) and long eye stalks with eyes at the end. Beneath the shell is a strong foot with a claw-like pointed toenail. 

Conchs are either male or female. The male has a black arm over his right eye. The female conch has a groove that runs down the right side of her foot. 

The Nassau Grouper belongs to the seabass family of fish. All seabass have strong, stout bodies and large mouths. 

Five dark brown bands, a black a black saddle-like spot near the tail fin and a dark streak running from its nose through its eyes are features that distinguish the Nassau Grouper from other groupers. 

The Nassau Grouper is a valuable fisheries resource and an important part of the coral reef community. The grouper is usually found in caves, crevices and cracks of the reef. It is rarely found deeper than 90 feet. This fish often rests on the sea bottom, blending with its surroundings. Nassau Groupers are found throughout the Caribbean Sea. 

Fisheries are an essential resource. About 75% of the world’s fish catch is for human consumption. The demand for seafood has been rising globally due to increased awareness of seafood’s healthy properties. Many medicines contain compounds derived from marine organisms. The ocean provides goods, services, employment to millions of people around the world (e.g. snorkeling, diving and sports fishing). The principal commercial fisheries in The Bahamas are crawfish, conch, shallow water scale fish like Nassau Grouper, jack, snappers and grunts and deep-water scale fish like red snapper. Fisheries are threatened by habitat loss, overfishing, pollution, introduction of invasive species and climate change. 

In addition to the large amounts of coral bleaching, climate change, illegal harvesting, coastal development, destructive fishing practices, and ocean pollution have been driving the world’s wild coral populations to the brink of extinction. With 75 percent of reefs under the threat of damage or death, there often seem like there is not much that anyone can do to save coral. However, scientists in different parts of the world, including in The Bahamas, are experimenting with growing corals. Many projects have been successful. They start with a live piece of coral which is cut into many smaller pieces. Those coral fragments are either glued onto round cement platforms roughly the size of drink coasters or tied to a PVC frame and allowed to hang in the water column. 

While a few projects utilize large aquarium tanks where scientists must maintain the correct temperature, the amount of sunlight and mineral conditions, most coral are farmed in the ocean. Many coral propagation units exist in the Bahamas. In the Bahamas marine protected areas such as national parks are one of the main ways coral reef and fisheries are managed and protected. 

Oceans are polluted by human and natural means. People dump waste material into the ocean. Marine debris is waste that litters the ocean. Often such waste consists of non- biodegradable substances like plastics. Marine life eat the plastic which blocks their digestive tracts and causes starvation. Animals may also get trapped in marine debris and suffocate.  Oil spills are another source of pollution.  Chemical products such as fertilizers and detergents contain phosphorus. Phosphorus causes algae to grow very quickly and smother coral reefs.  Scientists are working to develop new kinds of plastics that are biodegradable and not harmful to marine life. However, ocean pollution can be reduced in the following ways: 

Water can be treated before it flows into the ocean;  More people can use septic tanks rather than soak aways;  Industries can be more careful about how and where they discard waste;  More substances can be recycled so that they avoid going to the landfill;  We should keep our surroundings clean so that garbage is not carried by the wind into the ocean. 

A long time ago, Bahamians made a living by diving into the sea to collect sponges. But wait—these aren’t the same sponges we use to wash dishes! Natural sponges are soft, living sea creatures that grow on the ocean floor. When they are collected, cleaned, and dried, they become the sponges that people use for bathing, painting, and even cleaning!

Sponging became a big business in The Bahamas in the 1800s. Fishermen, called sponge divers, would go out on boats, use long poles or dive into the water, and carefully cut the sponges off the sea floor. They had to be careful not to take too much, so the sponges could grow back. Once they brought the sponges to shore, they were left in the sun to dry. After drying, the sponges were cleaned, packed, and shipped to other countries.

For many years, sponging was one of the most important industries in The Bahamas. Many families depended on it for money to buy food, clothes, and other necessities. But in the 1930s, a disease killed many of the sponges, and the industry slowed down. Even though sponging is not as popular as it used to be, some Bahamians still collect and sell sponges today!

So, next time you see a natural sponge, remember—it might have come all the way from the clear blue waters of The Bahamas!

Complete the following in your science notebooks.