Science Benchmark
Utah has diverse plant and animal life that is adapted to and interacts in areas that can be described as wetlands, forests, and deserts. The characteristics of the wetlands, forests, and deserts influence which plants and animals survive best there. Living and nonliving things in these areas are classified based on physical features
Language science students should use: wetland, forest, desert, adaptation, deciduous, coniferous, invertebrate, vertebrate, bird, amphibian, reptile, fish, mammal, insect, hibernation, migration
Common plants in Utah: sagebrush, pinyon pine, Utah juniper, spruce, fir, oak brush, quaking aspen, cottonwood, cattail, bulrush, prickly pear cactus
Common animals in Utah: jackrabbit, cottontail rabbit, red fox, coyote, mule deer, elk, moose, cougar, bobcat, deer mouse, kangaroo rat, muskrat, beaver, gopher snake, rattlesnake, lizard, tortoise, frog, salamander, red–tailed hawk, barn owl, lark, robin, pinyon jay, magpie, crow, trout, catfish, carp, grasshopper, ant, moth, butterfly, housefly, bee, wasp, pill bug, millipede
Common plants in Utah: sagebrush, pinyon pine, Utah juniper, spruce, fir, oak brush, quaking aspen, cottonwood, cattail, bulrush, prickly pear cactus
Common animals in Utah: jackrabbit, cottontail rabbit, red fox, coyote, mule deer, elk, moose, cougar, bobcat, deer mouse, kangaroo rat, muskrat, beaver, gopher snake, rattlesnake, lizard, tortoise, frog, salamander, red–tailed hawk, barn owl, lark, robin, pinyon jay, magpie, crow, trout, catfish, carp, grasshopper, ant, moth, butterfly, housefly, bee, wasp, pill bug, millipede