Is coral an animal or a plant? My science book said that it was an animal, but I have always thought that it is a plant. — Jessica of Columbia, MO

Dear Jessica,

Your science book is right. Corals look like plants, and they don't move around like a lot of animals, but they are animals. What we see as branches actually are whole colonies of coral animals. Each animal, called a polyp, has a hard skeleton and a soft body. This is attached to rock, or to the skeletons of dead polyps. What we sometimes see as flowers actually are the tentacles with which they capture food from the water. One of the main differences between plants and animals is that plants make their own food, whereas animals must eat plants or other animals.