Let’s go step by step to solve the “Mollusks Fact or Fiction” worksheet.
We need to decide if each statement is
Fact (true) or
Fiction (false), based on what we know from the reading pages and general knowledge about mollusks.
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Statement 1:
“Bivalve shells have a matching top and bottom shell”
→ Bivalves = clams, oysters, mussels, scallops. They have two shells that fit together like a hinge — one left, one right (or top and bottom when closed). So yes, they match.
✔ Fact
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Statement 2:
“One siphon both takes water in and expels waste”
→ From the text: “Inside the mollusk has siphons tubes to exchange waste. It has an incumbent siphon to take in water breathe and food particles such as plankton. The other it excurrent siphon that expels waste.”
So there are TWO siphons — one for taking water IN, one for pushing waste OUT.
✘ Fiction
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Statement 3:
“Can use a foot to move”
→ Many mollusks have a muscular “foot” used for movement. Snails glide on their foot. Clams dig with their foot. Even octopuses have modified feet (tentacles).
✔ Fact
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Statement 4:
“Are a favorite food of walruses”
→ Walruses eat mostly clams and other bivalves — which are mollusks! They suck out the soft parts using their lips and tongue.
✔ Fact
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Statement 5:
“Scallops flap their shell to swim”
→ Yes! Scallops can clap their shells together to jet away from predators. That’s how they “swim”.
✔ Fact
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Statement 6:
“Whelks drill holes into shells to suck out the insides”
→ From the text: “They use their proboscis to probe other shells and try to pry them open. Then they execute a shell softener and drill into the shell. They also seek out dead and decaying fish.”
Also mentioned earlier: “Watch the moon snail... drills into the shell and eat animal.” Whelks do similar things.
✔ Fact
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Statement 7:
“Beautiful pearls are crafted on purpose by clams, oysters, and other mollusks”
→ Pearls form naturally when something irritates the mollusk — like sand or a parasite. The mollusk covers it with layers of nacre. Humans don’t make them “on purpose” — though farmers may insert beads to start the process (cultured pearls), but even then, the mollusk does the work. The statement says “crafted on purpose by clams...” — implying the mollusk intends to make jewelry. That’s not true.
✘ Fiction
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Statement 8:
“Scallops can have 100 eyes so they can see predators”
→ From the text: “Scallops many tiny eyes that form rings around animals – They are sensitive to light and IT to see danger approaching”
And science confirms: scallops have up to 200 blue eyes along their mantle edge!
✔ Fact
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Now let’s compile our answers:
1. Fact
2. Fiction
3. Fact
4. Fact
5. Fact
6. Fact
7. Fiction
8. Fact
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Final Answer:
Fact, Fiction, Fact, Fact, Fact, Fact, Fiction, Fact
Parent Tip: Review the logic above to help your child master the concept of mollusk worksheet.
