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Year 9

Adaptations

I can describe the adaptations of some species that make them well suited to survive in their environment.

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New
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Year 9

Adaptations

I can describe the adaptations of some species that make them well suited to survive in their environment.

Download all resources
Share activities with pupils

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Species have features which make them well suited to survive in their environment.
  2. These features are called adaptations.
  3. Examples of adaptations of particular species of animals and plants.
  4. How particular adaptations provide an advantage in the environment in which the species lives.

Common misconception

As students struggle to remember that plants are alive, they don't think of plants as being adapted to their surroundings.

This lesson gives many examples of the adaptations plants have which help them to thrive in their environments.

Keywords

  • Adaptation - An adaptation is a feature that organisms have to help them live in a particular place and survive.

  • Camouflage - Camouflage is a strategy that organisms use to disguise their appearance, usually by blending in with their surroundings.

  • Photosynthesis - Producers make their own food using a series of chemical reactions called photosynthesis.

This lesson is a great chance to show off the amazing adaptations plants have. If you have any plants such as cacti or Venus fly traps in your school, bring them to your lesson. If not, there are many videos on-line which showcase weird and wonderful plants such as pitcher plants or corpse flowers.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which is the best description of this polar environment?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: It is cold, windy, dry, has cool summers and very cold winters.
It is cold, windy, wet, and has warm summers and a long winter.
It is cold, dry and has warm summers and very cold winters.
Q2.
Which is the best description of this desert environment?
An image in a quiz
Dry, little rainfall, some plants and hot all the time.
Correct answer: Dry, little rainfall, very few plants and has extreme temperatures.
Dry, little rainfall, some plants, no animals and hot all the time.
Q3.
True or false? A habitat is the place where an organism lives. It must provide food, shelter and a place to reproduce.
Correct answer: True
False
Q4.
What of the following would not cause a habitat to change?
Earthquake
Pollution
Deforestation
Correct answer: The Moon
Climate change
Q5.
What is photosynthesis?
The process by which plants reproduce.
Correct answer: The process by which plants make their own food.
The process by which plants are consumed by other organisms.
Q6.
An is a feature that organisms have to help them live in a particular place.
Correct Answer: adaptation
Q2 Dmitry Rukhlenko, Shutterstock.com

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is the name given to the features that help organisms to live in a particular place?
Correct Answer: Adaptations, adaptation, Adaptation, adaptations
Q2.
Which one of these is not an adaptation of a shark?
An image in a quiz
It has gills so it can breathe underwater.
It has eyes on the side of its head to give it a good field of vision.
Correct answer: It has a dorsal fin for temperature regulation.
It has a streamlined body to help it swim fast.
Camouflaged body to help it hunt.
Q3.
What word describes organisms that blend in with their surrounding?
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: camouflage, camouflaged, Camouflage, Camouflaged
Q4.
What adaptations might a mammal in the Arctic have?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: small ears
Correct answer: white fur
Correct answer: greasy fur
Correct answer: thick fur
long thin legs
Q5.
Which of the following are adaptations that a cactus might have?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: Swollen stem to store water.
Large leaves to maximise photosynthesis.
Correct answer: Long roots help to get water from deep underground.
Large stem to obtain light for photosynthesis.
Correct answer: Shallow roots to help the plant to obtain water from dew.
Q6.
Which features might a plant living on a rainforest floor have?
Spines instead of leaves to reduce water loss.
Correct answer: Broad leaves to maximise sunlight absorption for photosynthesis.
Long roots help to get water deep from underground.
One large stem to store water.