🌍 Adapting to the Environment
Primary 6 Science — Summary Notes
Created by Miss Clarissa Ng · www.clartutors.com
1. 🧬 What Is an Adaptation?
- Environments differ because of living and non-living factors — temperature, water, light, air, food availability, and the number of predators and prey.
- To survive, an organism must be specially adapted to its environment.
- An adaptation is a feature or behaviour that increases an organism's chance of survival.
Adaptations help an organism to:
- cope with physical conditions — temperature, water and light;
- get enough food, water, air and nutrients;
- defend itself against predators;
- reproduce successfully;
- respond to changes in its environment.
Two types of adaptations:
| Type | What it is |
|---|---|
| Structural | Physical features of the organism, such as its body covering, colour or shape. |
| Behavioural | Special behaviours the organism carries out, such as migration. |
Throughout these notes:
🦴 STRUCTURAL = a physical feature ·
🏃 BEHAVIOURAL = something the organism does.
⭐️ KEY POINT
An organism that cannot adapt must leave its habitat or risk dying out.
2. 🐾 Coping with Living Factors
- Living factors include the food supply and the organism's interactions with other organisms — whether helpful or harmful.
- For animals, survival depends on obtaining food and avoiding predators.
- For plants, they can make their own food but cannot move — so they need defences against herbivores and omnivores.
- Both plants and animals rely on structural and behavioural adaptations to cope with these challenges.
3. 🐻 Predator–Prey Relationships
Structural adaptations in animals
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Eyes at the side of the head | Gives a wider field of vision, so predators can be spotted early. | Deer, zebra |
| Camouflage | Body shape or colour blends in with the surroundings. | Leaf insect, arctic hare |
| Protective coverings | Quills, spines or hard shells make the animal hard to attack. | Porcupine, tortoise |
| Eyespots | Markings that mimic large eyes scare predators away. | Butterflyfish, caterpillar |
| Repellent smells | Unpleasant odours drive predators off. | Skunk spray, vulture vomit |
| Toxins | Poisonous skin or a foul taste stops the predator eating it. | Dart frog, monarch butterfly |
| Horns | Used to fight off predators. | Goat, deer |
| Bright colours (mimicry) | A harmless animal mimics a poisonous one, so predators avoid it. | King snake |
Behavioural adaptations in animals
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Nocturnal | Being active at night avoids predators that hunt in the day. | Hedgehog, rodents |
| Hiding in burrows or holes | Staying underground keeps the animal out of sight. | Opossum |
| Living in groups | More eyes watching, so predators are spotted sooner. | Prairie dogs, gazelles |
| Scattering | Confuses the predator when the group breaks apart. | Buffalo, deer |
| Dropping tails or limbs | Distracts the predator while the animal escapes. | Lizards, starfish |
| Intimidation | Appearing larger frightens the predator away. | Elephant, frill-necked lizard |
4. 🌵 Defence in Plants
Plants defend themselves against herbivores and omnivores with these adaptations.
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Needle-like leaves | Hard for animals to eat. | Cactus |
| Stinging hairs | Cause pain when touched, so animals keep away. | Nettle |
| Fine hairs | Obstruct small insects that try to feed on the plant. | Capsicum plant |
| Nectaries | Attract predatory insects that eat the herbivores feeding on the plant. | Passionflower, acacia |
| Leaf spots | Mimic butterfly eggs, so butterflies do not lay more eggs on the plant. | Passionflower |
5. 🦅 Obtaining Food — Animals
🦴 STRUCTURALadaptations
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Acute senses | Detect prey from far away or in poor light. | Eagle (eyesight), shark (smell) |
| Forward-facing eyes | Gives depth perception for hunting. | Tiger, lion |
| Camouflage | Blends into the environment so prey does not see it coming. | Arctic fox, tiger |
| Countershading | Dark upper body and light underside hide the animal in water. | Penguin, killer whale |
| Superior strength or speed | Allows it to overpower prey. | Lion, shark |
| Venom | Immobilises prey. | Cobra, scorpion |
| Specialised mouths | Beaks for tearing or probing; proboscis or long tongue for reaching food. | Eagle, hummingbird, mosquito, frog |
| Specialised teeth | Canines tear flesh, molars grind plants, incisors gnaw. | Lion, cow, rodent |
| Specialised feet | Talons grip prey; webbed feet paddle through water. | Eagle (talons), duck (webbed feet) |
🏃 BEHAVIOURALadaptations
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Hunting in packs | Takes down prey much larger than the hunter. | Hyenas, lions |
| Using bait | Tricks prey into coming closer. | Green heron |
| Feigning death | Fools predators and prey into thinking it is dead. | Cichlid fish |
| Setting traps | Catches prey without having to chase it. | Spider, antlion |
| Using tools | Cracks shells or reaches food hidden out of reach. | Sea otter, vulture |
6. 🦚 Reproduction — Animals
🦴 STRUCTURALadaptations
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Bright colours | Attract mates. | Peacock, guppy |
| Pheromones | Chemical signals that attract mates. | Pufferfish, moth |
🏃 BEHAVIOURALadaptations
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Nest building | A good nest attracts a mate. | Weaverbird, stickleback fish |
| Mating dances | Show off the animal's fitness. | Hummingbird |
| Mating calls | Attract mates and warn off rivals. | Frog, alligator |
| Fighting | Compete with rivals for mates. | Deer, goat |
7. 🐣 Survival of the Young
🦴 STRUCTURALadaptations
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Pear- or cone-shaped eggs | They roll in a circle instead of rolling off steep surfaces. | Guillemot |
🏃 BEHAVIOURALadaptations
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Laying many eggs | Increases the chances that some young survive. | Fish, frogs |
| Parental care | Young are protected until they reach adulthood. | Birds, midwife toad |
| Laying eggs in strategic places | The eggs and young are kept safer. | Cuckoo bird, dung beetle |
8. ❄️ Surviving Cold Environments
🦴 STRUCTURALadaptations
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Thick fur or feathers | Traps air, which is a poor conductor of heat, so less heat is lost. | Polar bear (fur), penguin (feathers) |
| Black skin | Absorbs more heat from the Sun. | Polar bear |
| Blubber (fat layer) | Reduces heat loss from the body to the cold surroundings. | Whale, seal, polar bear |
| Small ears | Less exposed surface area means less heat is lost. | Polar bear, arctic fox |
| Layer of oil on fur or feathers | Repels water so the animal stays dry and warm. | Polar bear, penguin |
| Stiff hairs on the soles | Prevent slipping on ice. | Polar bear |
🏃 BEHAVIOURALadaptations
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Hibernation | Metabolism slows in winter to save energy. | Grizzly bear, squirrel |
| Migration | Move to warmer regions for the winter. | Goose, duck, pelican |
| Fluffing up feathers | Traps more air for insulation. | Birds |
| Huddling together | Sharing warmth reduces heat loss. | Penguin, Japanese macaque |
9. ☀️ Surviving Hot Environments
🦴 STRUCTURALadaptations
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Large ears | Release heat through a larger surface area. | Fennec fox, desert hare |
| Hair on the soles of the feet | Traps air and reduces heat gained from the hot ground. | Fennec fox |
| Long legs | Lift the body away from the hot ground. | Camel |
| Thick, reflective coat | Reflects sunlight so less heat is absorbed. | Camel |
🏃 BEHAVIOURALadaptations
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Nocturnal (active at night) | Avoids the heat of the day. | Fox, snakes |
| Burrowing | Hides underground, where it is cooler. | Kangaroo rat |
| Aestivation | Summer dormancy avoids the heat. | Jerboa |
| Evaporative cooling | Spreads saliva or sweat to cool the body down. | Turkey vulture, kangaroo, owl |
10. 💦 Coping with Dry Conditions — Animals
🦴 STRUCTURALadaptations
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Reduced sweating | Conserves water in the body. | Camel |
| Efficient kidneys and intestines | Retain more water from food and drink. | Camel |
🏃 BEHAVIOURALadaptations
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Drinking lots of water at once | Stores the excess water in the blood for later use. | Camel |
| Nocturnal activity | Less water is lost in the cooler night air. | Kangaroo rat |
11. 🏜️ Coping with Dry Conditions — Plants
🦴 STRUCTURALadaptations
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Deep roots | Reach underground water. | Mesquite tree |
| Shallow, spreading roots | Absorb rainwater quickly before it drains away. | Desert shrubs |
| Swollen, fleshy stems | Store water for the dry season. | Cactus |
| Leaves reduced to spines | Less surface area means less evaporation. | Cactus |
| Thick, waxy cuticle | Prevents water from being lost through the leaf. | Cactus, desert plants |
| Light-coloured leaves | Reflect light and absorb less heat. | Brittlebush, desert agave |
🏃 BEHAVIOURALadaptations
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Shedding leaves | Reduces water loss during the dry months. | Maple tree |
12. 🌊 Coping with Wet Environments
Plants
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Waxy coating on floating leaves | Stops the leaves from becoming waterlogged. | Duckweed, water hyacinth |
| Breathing roots or prop roots | Absorb oxygen above the soil, where the mud is waterlogged. | Bakau, mangrove trees |
Animals
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Waterproof coating of fur or feathers | Prevents water from being absorbed and helps the animal float. | Beaver, duck |
13. 🌱 Coping with Light — Terrestrial Plants
🦴 STRUCTURALadaptations
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Tendrils | Climb upwards towards sunlight. | Cucumber, pumpkin |
| Clasping roots | Anchor the plant as it climbs. | Ivy, orchid |
| Creeping vines | Spread along surfaces to reach the light. | Sweet potato plant |
| Twining stems | Wrap around supports to grow higher. | Morning glory |
| Epiphytes | Grow on tall plants to access more sunlight. | Bird's nest fern |
14. 🦀 Coping with Air — Aquatic Animals on Land
🦴 STRUCTURALadaptations
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Gill chambers | Hold water containing dissolved oxygen, so the animal can still breathe on land. | Crab |
| Moist skin | Oxygen diffuses into the skin from the air. | Mudskipper, earthworm |
| Modified gills | Allow the animal to breathe on land. | Hermit crab |
15. 🐋 Getting Oxygen in Water — Mammals and Insects
🦴 STRUCTURALadaptations
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Blowholes or nostrils | Take in air near the surface without leaving the water. | Whale, dolphin, crocodile |
| Blood that carries more oxygen | Allows the animal to stay underwater longer. | Aquatic mammals |
| Slower heart rate | Conserves oxygen during a dive. | Seal |
| Breathing tubes | Draw air from above the surface while underwater. | Water stick insect, mosquito larva |
🏃 BEHAVIOURALadaptations
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Carrying air bubbles | Lets the animal stay underwater longer. | Diving beetle, water spider |
16. 🐟 Moving in Water
🦴 STRUCTURALadaptations
| Adaptation | How it helps | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Swim bladder or oils | Control buoyancy so the animal stays at the depth it wants. | Fish, whales, seals |
| Streamlined body | Reduces resistance from the water. | Fish, penguin, seal |
| Fins | Push against the water to swim. | Fish |
| Flippers | Aid movement through the water. | Whale, turtle, seal |
| Webbed feet | Larger surface pushes more water, so the animal swims faster. | Duck, penguin, frog |
| Strong tails | Propel the animal forward. | Crocodile, dolphin, fish |