Animal adaptations to the environment
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Question
What is an adaptation?
Answer
A feature that helps an organism **survive and reproduce** in its particular environment.
Question
What are the three types of animal adaptation?
Answer
**Structural** (body parts), **physiological** (internal processes) and **behavioural** (actions).
Question
What is a structural adaptation? Give an example.
Answer
A physical **body feature** — its shape, size or parts. Example: a fennec fox's **large ears** that lose heat.
Question
What is a physiological adaptation? Give an example.
Answer
A way the body **works on the inside**. Example: making very **concentrated urine** to save water.
Question
What is a behavioural adaptation? Give an example.
Answer
Something the animal **does** (an action or habit). Example: **sheltering in a burrow** during the midday heat.
Question
Give one structural, one physiological and one behavioural adaptation to desert heat.
Answer
Structural: **large ears** to lose heat. Physiological: **concentrated urine** to save water. Behavioural: being **active at night**.
Question
How do animals adapt to cold environments?
Answer
Structural: **thick fur and blubber**, small ears. Physiological: **shivering**. Behavioural: **huddling** or **migrating**.
Question
Name four herbivore adaptations for feeding on plants.
Answer
**Grinding teeth**, a **long gut**, **gut microbes** that digest cellulose, and **long feeding times**.
Question
Why do herbivores need gut microbes?
Answer
The microbes digest **cellulose** in plant cell walls, which the animal's own enzymes cannot break down.
Question
Give three behaviours that reduce an animal's risk of being eaten while feeding.
Answer
Staying **alert (vigilant)**, feeding **in a group**, and feeding **near cover** or at dawn/dusk.
Question
Why is 'large ears' alone not enough to score an adaptation mark?
Answer
You must add the **benefit** — large ears, **which lose heat** and keep the animal cool. Name the feature AND say how it helps.
Question
Which command term is used for almost all 2.9.5 questions, and what does it ask?
Answer
**Suggest** — apply the idea of adaptation to a **new animal** and give a plausible, reasoned answer.
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Topic 2.9 hub
Adaptation to environment
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