In spring, look in a pond and you may see a clump of clear jelly with black dots. Those are frog eggs! Each dot can become a tadpole, and each tadpole can become a frog.
Key idea
Eggs → tadpole → tadpole with legs → froglet → frog.
Why it works
A tadpole lives like a fish: it swims with its tail and breathes with gills. Little by little it changes. Legs grow, lungs grow, and its tail shrinks away until the young frog can hop out onto land and breathe air.
Worked example: Let's think it through
A tadpole swims and has gills. Is it a fish?
- A tadpole hatched from a frog's egg.
- It will grow legs and lose its tail.
- It can only grow into a frog, like its parents.
Answer: No. A tadpole is a young frog.
Common mistake
Children often think tadpoles are tiny fish. A tadpole is a young frog. It grows legs, its tail shrinks away, and it starts breathing air.
For the grown-up. From egg to froglet takes weeks to months, depending on the kind of frog and how warm the water is. If you visit a pond in spring, look closely at the edges and leave the eggs and tadpoles where they are.