CONTENTS PAGE

• What are Adaptations? Page 3

•Structural Adaptations Page 4
• Behavioral Adaptations Page 5
•How is food found? Page 6
•Defense Page 7
•Camouflage Page 8
•Insulating and conducting Page 9
•Moving on land Page 10
•Moving in water Page 12
•Flying Page 13
•Breathing in water Page 14
•Adapting to low light Page 15
•Plants in low light environment Page 16
•Acknowledgement Page 17
 What are Adaptations?
The environments where plants and animals live can be
very different. Some may be able to live in desserts while
others might not. Others might be able to survive in snow
While others might not. How is this possible? This is due
to Adaptations. An adaptation is a characteristic that an
organism has evolved that helps it to survive in its
environment. There are two main types of adaptations.
They are:

1. Structural adaptation
2. Behavioral adaptation
 Structural Adaptations

Structural adaptations are body parts that an organism has that

helps it to survive. It could be the insulating fur of a Siberian
Husky or the webbed feet of a Duck. Plants also have structural
adaptations.
 Behavioral Adaptations

Behavioral adaptations are the ways that an organism behaves that

helps it to survive. A millipede curls up when it is touched. Oxen
form a circle around their young when predators are near.
Behavioral adaptations can be learnt within an organism’s lifetime.
All animals have some kind of adaptations to help them get the food they
need to survive.
Examples:
Cheetah – It is able to run very fast and thus is able to catch its prey.
Echidna – It has a long and thin nose which makes it easy for them to
burrow for ants.
Spiders – They have stick glands which enables them to spin sticky
webs.
Pelican – Large spoon-shaped beak which alloows them to scoop food.
Woodpecker – they have strong sharp beaks to tear bark off trees.
etc.

This is an Echidna.
Many animals and plants have special features to make it
easy for them to escape from their preys. Some are covered
with hard scales or plates . Others have spine or spikes on
their bodies. Most of the animals stay together to protect
themselves.
Examples :
•Porcupine fish (Spines on the body)
•Zebras (stay in group)
•Anteater ( Body is covered with spine) Etc.
 Some animals blend so well with their surroundings
that they cannot be seen or
recoganized easily. This adaptation is called
camouflage.
– Body covering of a single colour, not easily seen
when surroundings are of that colour.:
Eg :
 snow owl
 Artic Fox ( white in winter )

Can you spot an insect?

Yes, it is none other then a stick

insect. Most of us were not able to
see it as it is well camouflaged.
•Animals that live in hot places
have certain ways to adapt to their
surroundings.
•Some animals dig holes, go inside
and stay out of the sun.
•Others are able to drink large
amounts of water at one time.
•Most dessert plants have shallow
roots to absorb water rapidly.
•Animals that live in cold
environment are able to keep
themselves warm.
•They will have a layer of insulating
fat and also a layer of thick fur
covered by a layer of waterproof fur
to keep themselves warm
•Birds have also adapted to living in
cold environment. They have
feathers to help them keep warm. If
it gets too cold they fly to warmer
environments. This behavioral
adaptation is called migration.
 Moving on Land
Animals that move on land may have legs with powerful
muscles to help them overcome the forces of gravity and
friction. These forces oppose movement on land. Animals
that move on land may also have modified feet. For
example, the feet of the horse and the kangaroo are
adapted to help these animals move on land.

Animals with legs may move about by hopping,

walking or running. Animals with no legs, eg snakes,
are able to crawl or slither on land.They have
adaptations to protect the lower part of their bodies,
which experience friction as they drag along the
ground.
Moving in water

Anything that moves in water experience a force called

water resistance. It acts against the direction of
movement, just like the force of friction on land.
Aquatic animals have streamlined body shape to reduce
the effects of water resistance. Aquatic animals may also
have modified limbs like flippers and webbed feet. These
help push the water back so the animal can move
forward at a high speed.
Adaptations on Flight
Have well developed wings
Have powerful flight muscles for flapping their wings
Are covered with feathers for warmth, allowing flight muscles to work properly
Feathers are light and strong, so ideal for wings
Have hollow, strong bones that are filled with air to reduce body weight
Streamlined body so can overcome air resistance.
Eg : crow, sparrow, eagle, seagull, hawks, falcon, owl, duck

Predatory birds such as eagles, falcons and hawks also have excellent eyesight.
They can spot their prey from a very long distance away and then rapidly
swoop down to capture it.
Breathing in water

Some aquatic animals are adapted to be able to take in dissolved oxygen

from water. Some aquatic animals may live in water, but come up to the
surface to take air. Some aquatic animals can live in water and on land. They
are adapted to take in dissolved oxygen when in water, and breathe air when
on land.

Eg : Fishes, shrimp, frog tadpole, toad tadpole, dragonfly nymph ( Gills )

Eg : Leech, worms ( soft, thin skin that can take in dissolved oxygen )
Eg : Mosquito larva, water scorpion, water stick insect ( Air tube or breathing
tube that sticks out above the water surface to take in air )
Nocturnal animals are animals that are asleep during the day
and awake in the night. They have special adaptations which
enables them to see at night. The retina in these nocturnal
creatures are large to collect more light. Nocturnal animals
have huge eyes. The eyes fill nearly half of these animal’s skull.
The bad thing about this is that they are not able to move their
eyes freely. To overcome this limited movement most nocturnal
animal’s heads can be rotated 270 degrees.
 Plants
Some plants may be in low light environments. For instance,
in a rain forest, most of the light is absorbed by the top
canopy layers. The plants on the rain forest floor have huge
leaves which enables them to absorb more sunlight at one
time. Most of them are able to grow on stems of other tall
plants so as to reach higher areas in the rain forest where
more light is available
 Science Revision PSLE Guide
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Done by: Gayathiri

Jaishree Cindy