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Year 10
AQA

Plant and animal adaptations in tropical rainforests

I can understand how plants and animals in tropical rainforests are well adapted to the physical conditions.

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New
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Year 10
AQA

Plant and animal adaptations in tropical rainforests

I can understand how plants and animals in tropical rainforests are well adapted to the physical conditions.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Tropical rainforests are home to a wide variety of plants and animals.
  2. Plants are adapted to the physical conditions in tropical rainforests, for example, drip tips and buttress roots.
  3. Animals are well adapted to the physical conditions in tropical rainforests.

Keywords

  • Biodiversity - the variety of species found in a habitat

  • Adaptations - a feature or behaviour that helps an animal or plant survive in its environment

  • Habitat - the natural place where a plant or animal lives and grows

Common misconception

The challenges faced by plants and animals in the canopy layer are the same as challenges on the forest floor.

Plants and animals face different challenges in the different habitats of the tropical rainforest. For example, plants on the forest floor have to have adaptations for low light levels.


To help you plan your year 10 geography lesson on: Plant and animal adaptations in tropical rainforests, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Virtual reality tours of the tropical rainforest will allow students to better understand the adaptations of plants and animals living in each layer of the tropical rainforest.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which word is described in this definition "a feature or behaviour that helps an animal or plant survive in its environment"?
skill
biology
Correct answer: adaptation
Q2.
Which of the following is an adaptation of tropical rainforest plants to cope with heavy rainfall?
Small leaves that lose less water
Large roots to absorb more water
Correct answer: Thick, waxy leaves that repel water
Deep roots to reach underground water
Q3.
Match the adaptation with the correct plant or animal.
Correct Answer:camouflage,leaf-tailed gecko
tick

leaf-tailed gecko

Correct Answer:drip tips on leaves,rubber tree
tick

rubber tree

Correct Answer:nocturnal behaviour,night monkey
tick

night monkey

Correct Answer:long curved claws for grip,sloth
tick

sloth

Q4.
Why do rainforest animals, like frogs and insects, have brightly coloured skin?
To camouflage with flowers
Correct answer: As a defence to warn predators they are toxic
To find each other in the dark
Q5.
Tropical rainforest are located between the Tropics of and .
Correct Answer: Cancer and Capricorn, Cancer Capricorn
Q6.
Which of the following best defines a biome?
Correct answer: A large area with distinct climate, vegetation, and animal life
A specific habitat where an organism lives
A small ecosystem within a city
A type of plant found in a forest

Exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
What does the term biodiversity refer to in a tropical rainforest?
Correct answer: The number of different species living in the area
The number of trees in the rainforest
The amount of rainfall in the region
The average temperature of the forest
Q2.
What is the difference between adaptations and changes an organism makes during its lifetime?
Adaptations occur over a short period of time, lifetime changes take generations
Correct answer: Adaptations occur over generations, lifetime changes are individual responses
Both adaptations and lifetime changes happen within a single generation
Adaptations only happen in plants, not animals
Q3.
Why is adaptation important?
1 - Adaptations occur as a
2 - result of evolution. Within a species, individuals are always a little different
3 - to genetic mutations. Sometimes these differences give individuals a slightly
4 - better chance of survival in their environment.
5 - If so, those individuals are more likely to reproduce and pass
6 - their advantage on to the next generation. Over generations, the advantages
7 - spread through the whole species and continue to be refined into adaptations.
Q4.
What does it mean if plants and animals are interdependent?
When animal species in different habitats have evolved similar adaptations
When plants and animals can survive independently without needing each other
Correct answer: When plants and animals rely on each other for survival