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Earthworm Worksheet

1. What is the name of the pumping organs of an earthworm?

2. Trace the parts of the digestive tract through which food passes.

3. Which parts of the earthworm serve as its brain?  How are these parts connected to the rest of the body?

4. Which of the parts of the worm’s body that you saw are included in the excretory system?

5. How can you find out whether an earthworm eats soil?

6. Among the earthworm’s structural adaptations are its setae. How do you think the earthworm’s setae make it well adapted to its habitat?

7. How is the earthworm’s digestive system adapted for extracting relatively small amounts of food from large amounts of ingested soil?

8. Your dissection of the earthworm did not go beyond segment 32.What will you observe if you dissect the remainder of the worm to its posterior end?

9. During mating, two earthworms exchange sperm. Fertilization is external, and cocoons are produced from which the young eventually emerge. Refer again to steps 5 and 11, where you located the earthworm’s reproductive organs. Use a reference (picture website) to identify the role of each male and female organ in the reproductive process.

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