Science

Autumn 1

The children have been learning about evolution and adaptation this week. They have explored how living things have changed over time and how fossils provide evidence for how organisms have developed. The children have learned about Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution by natural selection.

How horses evolved over millions of years

• About 55 million years ago – Eohippus: An early ancestor of the horse was small, about the size of a small dog. It had several toes on each foot and lived mainly in forests.
• About 37 million years ago – Mesohippus: Horses became larger and taller, with longer legs. They had fewer toes and were better suited to moving over open ground.
• About 17 million years ago – Merychippus: Horses became larger and developed a single main hoof, helping them run efficiently across grasslands.
• About 4 million years ago – early Equus: Horses became increasingly similar to modern horses, with long legs, strong teeth and a single hoof.
• Today – Equus: Modern horses have one hoof on each foot, long legs and teeth adapted for eating grass.

Key idea for children

Horses did not suddenly change from one type into another. There was variation within populations, and horses with characteristics that helped them survive and reproduce were more likely to pass those characteristics to their offspring. Over many generations, these changes resulted in the horses we see today.

Autumn 2

This term , we are looking at the circulatory system of animals including humans.

The children were able to:

• Identify and name the main parts of the human circulatory system, and describe the functions of the heart, blood vessels and blood.
• Recognise the impact of diet, exercise, drugs and lifestyle on the way their bodies function.
• Describe the ways in which nutrients and water are transported within animals, including humans.

An animal's circulation system moves blood around the body to and from the heart.

Different animals have different kinds of circulation systems.

Mammals, birds, reptiles and frogs all have two circulation circuits but fish only have one (because they don't need as much oxygen).

 

 

The circulatory system, also known as the cardiovascular system is a network of organs and blood vessels that work together to circulate blood around the body.

The circulatory system is made up of three main components:

1. Heart
2. Blood vessels
3. Blood

• If we could join all the blood vessels in a human body together end-to-end, they would wrap around the world twice!

• The heart is a powerful muscle that pumps approximately 9,092 litres of blood per day.

• Every second, your body produces millions of red blood cells to replace those that wear out.

• People have different blood types. There are four main blood types: A, B, AB and O.

• It takes about 20-30 seconds for blood to circulate completely throughout the body.

• Capillaries are the smallest blood vessels in our circulatory system.

• Veins contain valves which prevent the backflow of blood.

The children looked at images of red blood cells and what their do inside us.