Skeletons & Muscles

Skeletons and Muscles

Animals that have bones inside their bodies are called 'vertebrates'. The bones in the body of an animal form the animal's 'skeleton'.

Bones for support

Bones are used to help hold our bodies up.
- Long bones in our legs help us to stand.
- A set of small bones in the spine (backbone), help to hold up our body.
- Think of other places where we have bones that support our body.

Bones for protection

Our internal organs are soft and could be easily damaged if they didn't have protection.
Bones are made of a hard material.
Bones help to protect some organs.

Bones for protection examples

The skull protects the brain.
The ribs protect the lungs.
The sternum (breast bone) protects the heart.

Bones can be broken

Bones can still be broken if there is a strong enough force.
- When bones break, they can repair themselves.
Children have bendier bones than adults.

Bones for Movement

The bones of the skeleton give support and protection and help animals to use their muscles to move.

Bones for movement

Animals use their muscles to move.
In vertebrates (animals with backbones), muscles are attached to bones.
- Attached means stuck on to.

Pairs of muscles

Pairs of muscles in our arms and legs help us to move them.
- The muscles contract (shorten) and pull the bone.
- Muscles contracting makes bones move.
- The bone needs to be part of a joint to be able to move.

Movement example

Sit on a chair and lift your foot off the ground in front of you by straightening your leg at the knee.
- The muscle in your thigh (top part of your leg) is contracting.
- The muscle pulls the shin bone below the knee and makes your leg straighten.
- The knee is a joint.

Joints

The knee is a joint.
A joint is where two bones come together but can move.
- The elbow, hip and shoulder are all joints.
If you put your hand on your thigh muscle when you bend and straighten your leg, you can feel it contracting and relaxing.

Strengthening muscles

Exercise helps to build up muscle strength.
A lack of exercise makes our muscles weak.

1Year 3: Plants

1.1Types of Plants

1.1.1Flowering & Non-flowering Plants

1.2Parts of a Plant

1.2.1Roots

1.2.2What do Roots do?

1.2.3Stem

1.2.4Leaves

1.2.5How Leaves Make Food

1.2.6Flowers

1.3Pollination

1.3.1Pollination

1.3.2Pollination by Insects

1.3.3Pollination by the Wind

1.4Seeds

1.4.1Types of Seeds

1.4.2Dispersing Seeds

2Year 3: Animals (Including Humans)

2.1Food

2.1.1The Need for Food

2.1.2Food Groups

2.1.3Carbohydrates

2.1.4Proteins

2.1.5Dairy

2.1.6Fruit & Vegetables

2.1.7Fats

2.1.8Junk Food

2.2Skeletons & Muscles

2.2.1Skeletons & Muscles

2.2.2Healthy Bones

3Year 3: Rocks

3.1Rocks on Earth

3.1.1Rocks

3.1.2Fossils

4Year 3: Light

4.1What is Light?

4.1.1Light as Energy

4.1.2Reflections

4.1.3Sunlight

4.1.4Shadows

5Year 3: Forces & Magnets

5.1Forces

5.1.1What is a Force?

5.1.2Contact & Non-Contact Forces

5.1.3Testing Magnetic Materials

5.1.4Attracting & Repelling Magnets

5.1.5Uses of Magnets

6Year 4: Living Things & Their Habitats

6.1Grouping Animals

6.1.1Biodiversity & Classification

6.1.2Grouping Animals

6.2Vertebrates

6.2.1Vertebrates

6.2.2Mammals

6.2.3Reptiles

6.2.4Fish

6.2.5Amphibians

6.2.6Birds

6.3Invertebrates

6.3.1Invertebrates

6.3.2Insects

6.3.3Spiders

6.3.4Slugs & Snails

6.3.5Worms

6.4Grouping Plants

6.4.1Grouping Plants

6.4.2Flowering Plants

6.4.3Non-Flowering Plants

6.5Classification Keys

6.5.1Classification Keys

6.6Environmental Change

6.6.1Positive Impact of Humans on the Environment

6.6.2Negative Impact of Humans: Deforestation

6.6.3Negative Impact of Humans: Litter

6.6.4Negative Impact of Humans: Overpopulation

7Year 4: Animals, Including Humans

7.1Teeth

7.1.1Why Do We Need Teeth?

7.1.2'Baby' Teeth

7.1.3Adult Teeth

7.1.4Incisors

7.1.5Canines

7.1.6Premolars

7.1.7Molars

7.2Digestion

7.2.1What is Digestion?

7.2.2The Digestive System - The Mouth

7.2.3The Digestive System - The Stomach

7.2.4The Digestive System - The Small Intestines

7.2.5The Digestive System - The Large Intestines

7.3Food Chains

7.3.1What are Food Chains?

7.3.2Producers, Predators & Prey

7.3.3Herbivores & Carnivores

8Year 4: States of Matter

8.1The 3 States of Matter

8.1.1States of Matter

8.1.2Changes of State

8.2The Water Cycle

8.2.1The Water Cycle

8.2.2Evaporation at Different Temperatures

9Year 4: Sound

9.1How Do I Hear?

9.1.1What is Sound?

9.1.2Sound Travels to Your Ear

9.2Pitch

9.2.1Pitch

9.3Volume

9.3.1Volume

9.3.2How Distance Affect Volume

10Year 4: Electricity

10.1Uses of Electricity

10.1.1What Uses Electricity?

10.2Conductors & Insulators

10.2.1Electrical Conductors

10.2.2Electrical Insulators

10.3Making Circuits

10.3.1What is a Circuit?

10.3.2Complete Circuits

10.3.3Electrical Safety

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