B1 4 Adapt and Survive

Question 0

What are adaptations?

Answer 0

Features which enable organisms to survive in the conditions they normally live in.

Question 1

Why do organisms need materials from their environment?

Answer 1

To survive and reproduce.

Question 2

What are extremophiles?

Answer 2

Extremophiles have adaptations which enable them to live in extreme conditions of salt, temperature or pressure.

Question 3

What do plants need from their environment?

Answer 3

Plants need light, carbon dioxide, water, oxygen and nutrients to produce glucose energy in order to survive.

Question 4

What do animals need from their environment?

Answer 4

Animals need food, water and oxygen.

Question 5

What do micro organisms need from their environment?

Answer 5

Micro organisms need a range of things. Some are like plants and others like animals.

Question 6

Plant adaptation examples:

Answer 6

• Epiphytes- adapt to live in high grounds. They collect water and nutrients from the air.
• Rafflesia Arnodii- produces flowers that weigh 11 kg and smell of rotting corpse. The smell increases the chance that flies will carry pollen to another plant.

Question 7

Animal adaptation examples:

Answer 7

• Carnivores- teeth adapted to tear flesh

* Herbivores- teeth adapted to tear into plant cells

Question 8

Micro organisms adaptation example:

Answer 8

• Thermophiles- survive at temperatures exceeding 45 degrees C
• They have specially adapted enzymes that do not denature at these temperatures

Question 9

Animal adaptations in cold climates:

Answer 9

• Large with a small SA:V ratio
• Thick insulating layers of fat and fur
• Small ears to avoid heat loss

Question 10

Animals in dry climates:

Answer 10

• A large SA:V ratio to maximise heat loss
• Thin fur
• Behaviour patterns to avoid heat

Question 11

Camouflage

Answer 11

Camouflage helps animals to survive as they can blend into their surroundings but it can also help predators as they are able to converge into the environment too.

Question 12

Plant adaptations:

Answer 12

• Reducing the SA of the leaves- lose less water by transpiration
• Having water-storage tissues
• Extensive root systems

Question 13

Cactii adaptations:

Answer 13

• Leaves turn to spines- to avoid heat loss by reducing the SA
• The sharp spines also prevent animals from eating the cactus
• Stem that swells- to hold more water

Question 14

What do animals compete for?

Answer 14

• Food
• Territory
• Mates

Question 15

Competition for food:

Answer 15

PREDATORS

HERBIVORES:
•Some herbivores are adapted to eat a wide range of plants

CARNIVORES:
• Some carnivores have long legs to run faster
• Sharp eyes

PREY:
• Some animals contain poisons which makes anything that eats them sick or dead, E.g. Poison arrow frogs

• Mimicry. The coral snake is mimicked by the milk snake

Question 16

Competition for territory:

Answer 16

• Most animals cannot reproduce if they don’t have good territory. It will be difficult to find a mate

Question 17

Competition for a mate:

Answer 17

• The males try to impress the females
• Some species (e.g. Lions), the males fight between themselves and the winner gets the female
• Male peacocks have bright plumage to attract the females

Question 18

Competition in plants:

Answer 18

Plants often compete with each other for:

• light for photosynthesis to make food
• water for photosynthesis and to keep cells rigid and supported
• nutrients (minerals) so that chemicals can be made in cells
• space to grow

Question 19

Why do plants compete?

Answer 19

Similarly to animals, plants compete to survive.

Question 20

Competition in Plants- Adaptations:

Answer 20

• Small plants grow and flower early in the year before the big trees
• Different types of roots. Some plants have shallow roots which takes water and nutrients from the surface of the soil whereas other plants have deep and long roots
• Greater leaf SA to maximise the absorption of light
• Some plants like the African acacia make poisons which makes them taste bitter

Question 21

Spreading the seeds:

Answer 21

• To reproduce successfully, a plant has to avoid competition with its seedlings
• E.g. Winged seeds of the sycamore tree
• Some plants use mini explosions to disperse the seeds
• Some fruits are sticky or have hooks which get attached to a passing animal

Question 22

What are environmental changes caused by?

Answer 22

Living or non-living factors.

Question 23

How can environmental factors be measured?

Answer 23

They can be measured by using non-living indicators.

Question 24

What can be used as pollution indicators?

Answer 24

Living organisms.