Name : ___________________________

Grade : ___________________________

SUMMARY

Adaptations of plants and animals in hot, dry environments

 Adaptations are features that help plants and animals to live in their environments.
 Cacti are well adapted for survival in the desert. They have:
- Waxy coating stops water from escaping.
- Deep roots to find water.
- Thorns instead of leaves allow it to lose less water.
- Fat stem to store water.
 Camels are adapted for survival in the desert. They have:
- Long eyelashes to keep and out of eyes.
- Thick lips so they can eat thorny desert plants.
- Humps store fat or energy.
- Wide tough feet so they can walk on hot sand more easily.
 Smaller animals like rats and lizards dig burrows to stay in during the hot days. They only come
out their burrows at night when it is cooler.

Adaptations of plants and animals in wet environments

 Water lilies and lotus plants live in water. They have adaptations such as :
- Large flat leaves which float on the water.
- Big air spaces in the leaves and stems so they can float and leaves can absorb sunlight on
the water surface
- Weak stems because the water support the plant.
- Small roots because the plants is in water all the time and doesn’t need to be anchored in
the soil.
 Fish are adapted to their environment because they have:
- gills to absorb oxygen from the water.
- Fins allow the fish to move through the water.
 Many birds, such as ducks and geese have webbed feet to help them swim in water.
 Sea birds have waterproof feather so that they can dive for food. They also have special
glands that get rid of salt that they take when they drink seawater.
 Flamingoes lie in a shallow water. They have long, thin legs allow them to walk through
water easily. They also have long flexible necks allow them to reach food below the water
surface.

Predators and prey

 Cheetah is a very successful predator because it has :

- Streamlined shape to help it to run fast.
- The eyes that are in front of its head so that the cheetah can judge distance well.
- Well camouflaged because its colours blend in with the dry grass environment.
 Springbok is the prey. Springbok stay together in large group to avoid being caught and
eaten. A springbok that cannot run so fast gets left behind the groups so that the predators
hunts and kills.

Adaptations of predators

 Examples of adaptations that predators have are :

- Speed
- Streamlined body shape
- Camouflage
- Venom
- Trapping
- Very good eyesight
- A good sense o smell
- Sharp powerfull teeth
 - Sharp claws
- Teamwork
- A good sense of hearing
 The chameleon can shoot its tongue out so far and so fast that the beetle doesn’t stand a
chance.
 Many snakes, like the cobra have venom. The cobra spits its venom on to its prey to kill it.
 Other snakes bite their prey and inject them with venom.
 Scorpions poison their prey with venom.
 Eagles have very good eyesight. They can spot their prey when it is 3 km away. They also
have talons for gripping their prey.
 Wild hunting dogs work in a team to surround their prey. They have good sense of smell and
can smell their prey long before they can see it.

1. What are adaptations?

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2. Describe the adaptations of cacti
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3. Describe the adaptations of camels
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4. Describe the adaptations of rats and lizards
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5. Describe the adaptations of water lilies
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6. Describe the adaptations of fish
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7. Describe the adaptations of ducks and geese
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8. Describe the adapatations of sea birds
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9. Describe the adaptations of flamingoes
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10. How are cheetahs adapted to being very successful predators?
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11. What is the most important adaptation of springbok to avoid being caught and eaten from
predators?
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12. List 11 examples of predator adaptation
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13. Describe the adapatations of chameleons
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14. Describe the adaptations of snakes
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15. Describe the adaptations of scorpions
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16. Describe the adaptations of eagles
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17. Describe the adaptations of wild hunting dogs
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