Adaptations

Question 1

Adaptation

Answer 1

Characteristics that increase an organisms chance of survival and reproduction in its environment

Question 2

Adaptations can be divided into 3 groups :

Answer 2

Anatomical adaptations

Behavioural adaptations

Physiological adaptations

Question 3

Anatomical adaptations

Answer 3

Physical features internal and external

Question 4

Behavioural adaptations

Answer 4

The way an organism acts these can be inherited or learnt from their parents

Question 5

Physiological adaptations

Answer 5

Processes that take place inside an organism

Question 6

Anatomical adaptations

Answer 6

Body covering

Camouflage

Teeth

Mimicry

Question 7

Mimicry

Answer 7

• copying another animal’s appearance or sounds allows a harmless organism to fool predators into thinking it is poisonous or dangerous

Question 8

Teeth

Answer 8

• the shape and type of teeth present in an animals jaw are related to its diet
• herbivores such as sheep have continuously growing molars for chewing tough grass and plants
• carnivores such as tigers have sharp large canines to kill prey and tear meat

Question 9

Camouflage

Answer 9

• the outer colour of an animal allows it to blend into its environment making it harder for predators to spot it
• for eg. The snowshoe hare is white in winter to match the snow and turns brown in summer to blend in with the soil and rock environment in which it lives

Question 10

Body covering

Answer 10

• animals have a number of different body coverings such as hair ,scales, spines,feathers and shells
• these can help the organism to fly such as feathers on birds - help it to stay warm such as thick hair on polar bears
• thick waxy layers on plants prevent water loss
• spikes can deter herbivores and protect the tissues from sun damage

Question 11

Marram grass

Answer 11

• found on sand dunes around the UK
• it is a xerophyte

Question 12

Adaptations of marram grass

Answer 12

Adaptations reduce the rate of transpiration and include:

• curled leaves to minimise the surface area of moist tissue exposed to the air and protect the leaves from the wind
• hairs on the inside surface of the leaves trap moist air close to the leaf reducing the diffusion gradient
• stomata sunk into pits which make them less likely to open and lose water
• a thick waxy cuticle on the leaves and stems reducing water loss through evaporation

Question 13

Behavioural adaptations

Answer 13

Survival behaviours

Courtship

Seasonal behaviours

Migration

Hibernation

Question 14

Hibernation

Answer 14

• a period of inactivity in which an animals body temperature, heart rate and breathing rate slow down to conserve energy
• reducing the animals requirement for food
• for eg, brown bears hibernate during the winter

Question 15

Migration

Answer 15

Animals move from one region to another and then back again when environmental conditions are more favourable

This may be for a better climate or a source of food

Question 16

Seasonal behaviours

Answer 16

These adaptations enable organisms to cope with changes in their environment

They include :

Migration

Hibernation

Question 17

Courtship

Answer 17

Many animals exhibit elaborate courtship behaviours to attract a mate

For eg. Scorpions perform a dance to attract a partner

Thus increasing the organisms chance of reproducing

Question 18

Survival behaviours

Answer 18

For eg. A opossum plays dead and a rabbit freezes when they think they have been seen

Question 19

What two main categories do behavioural adaptations ?

Answer 19

Innate behaviour

Learned behaviour

Question 20

Innate behaviour

Answer 20

• the ability to do this is inherited through genes
• for eg. The behaviour of spiders to build webs and wood lice to avoid light is innate
• this allows the organism to survive in the habitat in which it lives

Question 21

Learned behaviour

Answer 21

• these adaptations are learnt from experience or from observing other animals
• an example of learned behaviour is the use of tools for eg. Sea otters use stones to hammer shells off rocks and then to crack the hard shells open

Question 22

Physiological adaptations

Answer 22

Poison production

Antibiotic production

Water holding

Question 23

Position production

Answer 23

Many reptiles produce venom to kill their prey and many plants produce poisons in their leaves to protect themselves from being eaten

Question 24

Antibiotic production

Answer 24

Some bacteria produce antibodies to kill other species of bacteria in the surrounding area

Question 25

Water holding

Answer 25

The water holding frog can store water in its body

This allows it to survive in the desert for more than a year without access to water

Many cacti and other desert plants can hold large amounts of water in their tissues

Question 26

What do anatomical adaptations provide evidence for ?

Answer 26

Convergent evolution

Question 27

Analogous structures

Answer 27

They have adapted to perform the same function but have different genetic origin

Question 28

Convergent evolution

Answer 28

• when unrelated species begin to share similar traits
• these similarities evolve because the organisms adapt to similar environments or other selection pressures
• organisms live in a similar way to each other

Question 29

Marsupials ( required example in ocr )

Answer 29

Marsupials and placental mammals are an example of convergent evolution

• Placental mammals a placenta connects the embryo to its others mothers circulatory system in the uterus
• this nourishes the embryo allowing it to reach a high level of maturity before birth
• marsupials also start life in the uterus but then leave and enter the marsupium while they are still embryos
• they complete their development here by sucking milk

Question 30

Marsupial and placental mole

Answer 30

• both burrow throughout soft soil to find worms and grubs
• they have a streamlines body shape and modified forelimbs for digging
• velvety fur which allows smooth movement through the soil
• but they differ in fur colour - the marsupial mole ranges in colour from white to orange whereas the placental mole is grey