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Adaptation

This document contains questions and answers about adaptations in various organisms. It discusses how organisms like penguins, camels, cacti and others are adapted to survive in their environments through traits like camouflage, thick skin and layers of fat, specialized roots and leaves, etc. It also covers classification of organisms and the relationships between adaptations and surroundings.

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Bipasha Vakharia
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142 views5 pages

Adaptation

This document contains questions and answers about adaptations in various organisms. It discusses how organisms like penguins, camels, cacti and others are adapted to survive in their environments through traits like camouflage, thick skin and layers of fat, specialized roots and leaves, etc. It also covers classification of organisms and the relationships between adaptations and surroundings.

Uploaded by

Bipasha Vakharia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ADAPTATION

Question 1:

Find my match!

'A' Group 'B' Group


(1) Lotus (a) Flower and leaves attract insects
(2) Aloe (b) Haustorial roots for absorption of food
(3) Cuscuta (c) Adapted to live in deserts
Venus
(4) (d) Adapted to live in water
flytrap
ANSWER:
'A' Group 'B' Group
(1) Lotus (d) Adapted to live in water
(2) Aloe (c) Adapted to live in deserts
Haustorial roots for absorption
(3) Cuscuta (b)
of food
(4) Venus flytrap (a) Flower and leaves attract insects
Question 2:

Read the paragraph and answer the following questions.


I am a penguin. I live in polar region covered by snow. My abdomen is white.
My skin is thick with a layer of fat underneath. My body is spindle-shaped. My
wings are small. My toes are webbed. We live in flocks.
(a) Why is my skin white and thick and why is there a thick layer of fat
underneath?
(b) Why do we live in flocks sticking close to each other?
(c) Which geographical region do I inhabit? Why?
(d) Which adaptations should you have to enable you to live permanently in
the polar region? Why?
ANSWER:

a. Having black and white skin is a type of adaptation known as camouflaging.


It is called counter-shading and makes it harder for both the predators and the
prey to see penguins from all sorts of angles. The white chest of penguin
protects them in the water by camouflaging them from being seen from below
against the lighter sky coming through the waters surface. Their black backs
help them blend in with the darker, deeper ocean waters below them, thus
protecting them from their predators. They have thick layer of fat because it
keeps them warm under such extreme cold conditions.

b. We know that penguins live in the coldest regions of earth and in order to
find warmth and solace they remain in flocks with each other. In order to
escape the extreme cold conditions, they nestle together to keep each other
warm.

c. Penguins are found in regions of Antarctica, South America, Africa and


Australia. Many species can also be found in New Zealand and the sub-
Antarctic islands.

d. The following adaptations are required to survive in polar regions:

 black and white skin with a thick layer of fat beneath it


 skin should be covered with feathers
 small body with small wings
 presence of strong muscles in chest and wings

Question 3:

Who is lying?
(a) Cockroach – I have five legs.
(b) Hen – My toes are webbed.
(c) Cactus – My fleshy, green part is a leaf.
ANSWER:

The cockroach is lying beacuse it has six legs and not five.
The cactus is also lying because its fleshy, green part is a stem and not a leaf.
Question 4:

Read each of the following statements. Write a paragraph about adaptation


with reference to each statement.
(a) There is extreme heat in deserts.
(b) Grasslands are lush green.
(c) Insects are found in large numbers.
(d) We hide.
(e) We have long ears.
ANSWER:
a. There is extreme heat in deserts and dry conditions prevail in this region.
The animals and plants which are found in this region have special
modifications which help them to survive in such environment. For example,
cactus and acacia plants withstand hot and dry environment of the desert with
the help of various modifications. They have thick cuticle on their leaf surface
and their stomata are arranged in deep pits to minimise water loss by
transpiration. They have special photosynthetic pathway, CAM in which
stomata remains closed during day time. Their leaves are reduced to spines to
minimise water loss, and photosynthetic functions are performed by flattened
stems.
Similarly desert animals have adaptive features like- thick skin to prevent the
loss of water, long legs with flat and cushioned soles, long and thick eyelashes
and nostrils which are protected by folds of skin.

b. Grasslands are lush green due to the presence of diverse types of bushes
and grasses. Grasses are tall so that animals like tiger, lion, elephant can
remain hidden in them. Animals which are found in grasslands have
adaptations like strong legs to run fast and capture their prey, claws, sharp and
pointed canine. The herbivores which are found in this region have eyes below
the forehead which gives them wide angle vision which protects them from
predators.

c. Insects are found in large numbers because they have developed


mechanisms which help them to survive even in harshest of environment. They
are found in extreme conditions of deserts and Antartic region due to these
modifications. For example grasshopper have long, strong hind legs that help
them jump, house flies have sponging mouthparts to slurp up food, stinky bugs
and walking sticks have the ability to camouflage.

d. There are certain species which are able to hide themselves by blending
their colour with that of the surrounding. This adaptive mechanism is termed
as camouflage and is a method to protect oneself from the predators and prey.
For example, grasshopper, lizards, butterflies, chameleon, frogs etc.

e. Animals with long ears are found in grasslands. It is an adaptive mechanism


which enables them to receive sounds from long distances and from different
directions. Another important function of long ears is that they act as a cooling
system.
The large ears have thin skin and contain an extensive network of blood vessels
that provide a large surface area for heat exchange. These vessels swell when
the animal is hot to allow the blood to cool and contract when temperatures
drop to conserve heat.

Question 5:

Answer the following.


(a) Why is the camel called the 'Ship of the desert'?
(b) How can the plants like cactus and acacia live in deserts with scarce water?
(c) What is the inter-relationship between adaptations of organisms and their
surroundings?
(d) How are organisms classified?
ANSWER:

a. Camel is called the "Ship of Desert" because it is the only means of transport
found in deserts. The body of a camel has undergone various modifications
that help it to survive in the hot and dry conditions of the deserts.

 Camels have very long legs that help them to walk in the sand and
prevent the heat of the sand from reaching their bodies.
 They have a prominent back or hump. It stores food which helps it to
survive without food in the deserts for several days.
 Another important adaptation that helps the camel to survive in the
desert is its ability to conserve water. They do not sweat and excrete
only small amounts of water through urine. The camel dung is dry and
devoid of water.
 All this helps the camel to conserve water and enables them to live
without water for several days.

b. Cactus and acacia plants withstand hot and dry environment of the desert
with the help of various modifications. They have thick cuticle on their leaf
surface and their stomata are arranged in deep pits to minimise water loss by
transpiration. They have special photosynthetic pathway, CAM in which
stomata remains closed during day time. Their leaves are reduced to spines to
minimise water loss and photosynthetic functions are performed by flattened
stems.

c. Adaptation is defined as the modification or change in the organism's body


or behaviour that helps it to survive in a particular environment. The
environment in which an animal survives consists of many different things and
it must learn to adapt to each of these factors in order to survive. These factors
can be in the form of climate, the kinds of food plants that grow in it, other
animals that may be predators or competitors etc. This fact is evident from the
following examples:

 Cactus has thick cuticle on their leaf surface and their stomata are
arranged in deep pits to minimise water loss by transpiration. They have
special photosynthetic pathway, CAM in which stomata remains closed
during day time. Their leaves are reduced to spines to minimise water
loss, and photosynthetic functions are performed by flattened stems.
 Camels have very long legs that help it to walk in the sand and prevent
the heat of the sand from reaching their bodies. The camel has a
prominent back or hump. It stores food which helps it to survive without
food in the deserts for several days.

d. The hierarchy of classification was developed by Carolus Linnaeus. It refers


to the organisation or classification of organisms in the order of rank or
importance. According to this system, kingdom is the highest rank. It is divided
into phyla or divisions, which are further subdivided into classes. Further
divisions include order, family, genus and species, in that order. Thus, species
is the basic unit of classification.

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