ADAPTATIONKeisha Kidd, Curriculum Support

SpecialistMary Tweedy, Curriculum Support

SpecialistMillard Lightburn, PhD Instructional

Supervisor

Department of ScienceOffice of Academics and Transformation

Big Idea 17Interdependence

SC.5.L.17.1 (also assesses SC.3.L.17.1, SC.4.L.16.2, SC.4.L.17.1, SC.4.17.4 and SC.5.L.15.1)

Compare and contrast adaptations displayed by animals and plants

that enable them to survive in different environments such as life cycle variations, animal behaviors, and physical

characteristics.

Pacing Guide2/19 – 3/1 (9 days)

Item SpecificationsBenchmark Clarifications

• Students will explain, compare, and/or contrast how adaptations displayed by animals or plants enable them to survive in different environments.

• Students will distinguish plant or animal characteristics that are inherited from those that are affected by the environment.

• Students will identify characteristics of animals that are inherited characteristics from those shaped by learning.

• Student will identify ways in which plants and/or animals can impact the environment.

Sample FCAT 2.0 QuestionSample Item 24 SC.5.L.17.1

Loggerhead sea turtles are large turtles that live in the ocean and nest on the Florida coast. The female loggerhead sea turtle lays more than 100 eggs in the beach sand. How is laying so many eggs an important adaptation that helps these turtles to survive?

A. Large nests of eggs help keep the eggs warm enough to allow more turtles to hatch.

B. If many turtles hatch, they can help defend each other against predators in large numbers.

C. The more eggs that are laid, the greater the chance that more turtles will live to become adults.

D. A large number of eggs in one place makes it possible for the mother to lie on the eggs until they hatch.

Sample FCAT 2.0 QuestionSample Item 24 SC.5.L.17.1

Giant pandas live in the mountain forests of China and eat mostly bamboo. The giant panda has a sixth “finger,” while other bears have only five. The sixth finger is a large wrist bone that giant pandas are able to bend and use as a thumb. The picture below shows the paw of a giant panda with six fingers and the paw of another bear with five fingers.

Giant Panda Paw Bear Paw with Six Fingers and another bear with Five Fingers Sixth Finger

Which of the following statements best explains why the sixth finger helps the giant panda survive in its environment?

A. It helps the giant panda hold the bamboo stalks it feeds on.

B. It helps the giant panda crush the bamboo stalks before it eats them.

C. It allows the giant panda to dig in the mountain forests to hide its food.

D. It allows the giant panda to climb to the tops of mountain forests to find food.

NATURE WALK

• Take a nature walk and collect various leaf samples from the school garden (waxy leaf, fuzzy leaf, and uncoated leaf).

• Review and discuss the various characteristics of the leaves (include similarities and differences).

Engage

• Hold your thumbs against your palms and then untie and tie their shoes.

• If you don’t have laces, write your name on a sheet of paper.

Were these tasks difficult?

Thumbs are an adaptation that help us do many things. All animals have body parts and other physical adaptations that help them to survive.

We will take a look at the physical adaptations that plants have for survival.

Essential Question:

Explain how characteristics of plants can be affected by the environment. 

Problem statement:

Which leaf surface adaptations, waxy, fuzzy, or uncoated repels water the best?

Hypothesis:

If I put the same amount of water on each leaf, then the ___________leaf will repel water the best.

Let’s ExploreRefer to Essential Lab #11

Part B

Adaptation! Plant Survivors

Data Chart

Leaf “Raincoat” (Ability to Repel Water) Ratings* Leaf Type Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average Wax paper

Felt or wool

Construction paper

* Scale 1 – 5 with 1 being very wet, 5 being very dry

*Scale 1-31 = very wet, 2 = slightly wet, 3 = somewhat dry

REMINDER: Measure the remaining water to help determine moisture of the leaf.

Waxy leaf

Fuzzy leaf

Uncoated leaf

Explain

1. What was investigated?2. Was your hypothesis supported by the data?3. Look at the leaf dryness ratings. What information

can you learn from the data you gathered?4. What is the most interesting discovery you made

from the experiment?5. List three questions that you can answer using the

rating results (make believe you are the teacher).

Why Adapt?

• When people hear the word adapt, one of the first things that comes to mind is “fitting in.” People are always having to adapt or change to different situations or places.

• For animals, adaptation is a matter of life or death. If animals don’t adapt in certain ways to their surroundings, they will not survive.

• In other words, adaptation means having certain body parts or behaviors that allow animals to survive and thrive in their environments.

• In order for plants and animals to survive, they must have structures, behaviors and physiology that meet the requirements of their environment.

• For example, in order for plants to survive on land, they must have ways to get their water and other nutrients from their surroundings.

• Just as plants need these essential components to survive, all animals have specific characteristics that allow them to survive as well.

Structural and BehavioralAdaptations

• Now, let’s take a closer look at the definition of structural and behavioral adaptations.

• All organisms have adaptations that help them to survive. Some adaptations are structural and some are behavioral.

• Structural adaptations are physical features of an organism like the bill on a bird or the fur on a bear.

• Other adaptations are behavioral. Behavioral adaptations are the things organisms do to survive. For example, bird calls and migrations are behavioral adaptations.

What are Adaptations?

• Adaptations are the result of evolution. Evolution is a change in a species over long periods of time.

• Adaptations usually occur because a gene mutates or changes by accident! Some mutations can help an animal or plant survive better than others in the species without mutation.

• For example, imagine a bird species. One day a bird is born with a beak that is longer than the beak of other birds in the species.

A Need to Survive!• The longer beak helps the bird catch more food.

Because the bird can catch more food, it is healthier than the other birds, lives longer and breeds more. The bird passes the gene for a longer beak on to its offspring. They also live longer and have more offspring and the gene continues to be inherited generation after generation.

• Eventually the longer beak can be found in all of the species. This doesn't happen overnight. It takes thousands of years for a mutation to be found in an entire species.

A Need to Survive!• Over time, animals that are better adapted to

their environment survive and breed. Animals that are not well adapted to an environment may not survive.

• The characteristics that help a species survive in an environment are passed on to future generations. Those characteristics that don't help the species survive slowly disappear.

Plants adaptations allow them to live in specific environments.

Some adaptations are only helpful because of the environment in which a

plant lives.

Click on this link to explore a web site and learn about plant adaptations in different

environments.

Group Discussion Round Table:Beginning with the tallest person in your collaborative group, take turns going around the table in a clockwise direction telling one adaptation made by a plant which allows it to survive in its environment.

Like plants, animal adaptations allow them to live in specific environments.

Some adaptations are only helpful because of the environment in which a plant lives.

Click on this link to explore a web site and learn about animal adaptations in

different environments.

Group Discussion Round Table:Beginning with the tallest person in your collaborative group, take turns going around the table in a clockwise direction telling one adaptation made by an animal which allows it to survive in its environment.

An ADAPTATION is a characteristic or trait that helps an organism

survive in its environment.Here are some examples of adaptations:

Camouflage is a type of adaptation that allows animals to blend in with their surroundings. During summer months, the Arctic fox has a

brown coat. During winter, the coat of the Arctic fox is white, matching its icy, snowy surroundings.

In drier, temperate deciduous forests a thick bark helps to limit moisture evaporation from the tree's trunk.

Since this is not a concern in the high humidity of tropical rainforests, most trees have a thin, smooth bark. The

smoothness of the bark may also make it difficult for other plants to

grow on their surface.

1. Some plants have thick and waxy layers on top of their leaves. This reduces water loss from evaporation. Where would a plant without waxy leaves grow successfully?

a. where it is very cold at night b. where it is very hot during the day c. where there is plenty of water available d. where there is very little water available

Guided Practice

A. Plants without waxy leaves may not grow successfully where it is very cold at night. Being very cold at night does not mean that overall evaporation rates would be low. Deserts, for instance, may have hot days and cold nights.

B. Plants without waxy leaves would not grow successfully where it is very hot during the day. Areas that are very hot during the day will have high rates of evaporation and, therefore, be likely to have plants with thick, waxy layers on their leaves.

C. Plants without waxy leaves would not grow successfully where there is very little water available. Plants in dry areas are likely to be adapted to limit water loss by having thick, waxy layers on their leaves.

The correct answer is C

(where there is plenty of water available).

2. The snowshoe rabbit has white fur in the winter and brown fur in the summer. Which of the following can you infer about the snowshoe rabbit?

a. It has adapted to blend in with its environment.b. It has a disease.c. It travels south for the winter.d. It was brought from another country.

The correct answer is A(it is adapted to blend with its

environment).

B. This fur color change is typical of healthy snowshoe rabbits.

C. The white fur helps the snowshoe rabbit blend in with the snowy winter environment in the north.

D. The snowshoe rabbit is adapted well to the environment from which it originates.

3. Koala bears eat leaves from eucalyptus trees. If very cold weather killed most of the eucalyptus trees, which of the following would probably NOT happen?

a. Koalas would compete for leaves that were left.b. Koalas would move farther away to look for food.c. The number of koalas in the area would be less.d. The number of koalas in the area would be more.

The correct answer is D

(The number of koalas in the area would

be more).

A. It is true that the koalas would have to continue to compete for a limited food supply.

B. As food became more scarce, koalas would begin to wander further in search of food.

C. Because of the limited food supply, some koalas would not survive.

Science Journal

What adaptations of organisms allow them to thrive in their environments?

Check your understanding!1. Polar bears have adapted to live in very cold

places where it snows often. Which of the following adaptations helps polar bears to survive?

a. They eat plants.b. They are food for other large animals.c. They have small tails.d. They have fur that appears white.

2. The nuttall rabbit has adapted to live in the desert. Which of the following is it likely to eat?

a. cactusb. cornc. seedsd. smaller animals

3. During long periods of dry weather many plants have a special adaptation that helps to keep them from losing water. What is this adaptation?

a. They make seeds.b. They grow more leaves.c. They get shorter.d. Their leaves curl up.

4. The camel has a special adaptation that makes it easier it to live in the desert. What is this adaptation?

a. It stores water in its body.b. It has large hooves.c. It has a long neck.d. Its body is covered with fur.

Evaluate

Create a class data table, identifying the average results of each of the “raincoat” ratings from the different groups in the class. Compare and contrast all the data.

Analyze whole class data. Discuss why some data are the same and why

some data are different. Discuss what constant variables could have

affected the results.

Journal WritingReflection

Choose a plant or an animal. Write a first person paragraph explaining how YOUR adaptations (as the plant or the animal) have helped you survive in your environment.

Extension• Have the students repeat the experiment with real leaves.

• Use hand lens to observe and record plant adaptation characteristics.

• Include similarities, differences and summarize findings in science journals.

GIZMOS• Pond Ecosystem• Water Pollution

ReferencesPolk County Public SchoolsPlant Adaptation Sitewww.mbgnet.net/bioplants/adapt.htmlAnimal Adaptation http://www.chiddingstone.kent.sch.uk/homework/adaptation.htmhttp://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=93830http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/plants/plant-adaptations.htm