Traits and
Variations
Variations
What is the term used to describe a young organism from a parent?
offspring
True or False: The living things in an ecosystem interact with the nonliving things.
true
What term describes something that helps to make an organism better or more likely to succeed?
advantage
What is an example of something a young oak tree inherits from its parent tree?
Possible answers: brown bark, roots that grow down, green leaves
What term describes a group of a single type of organism living in the same place at the same time?
population
Are the spines on a cactus in a desert a helpful or harmful trait? Explain.
They are a helpful trait. The spines help protect the cactus from animals seeking water and food.
True or False: Traits are only physical features of an organism.
False, traits can also be behavioral.
How does a cactus survive in a desert with little water?
The cactus stores water inside for when there is little water in the desert.
What is the ultimate reason organisms have helpful traits?
to survive
What did Gregor Mendel notice when he studied a lot of pea plants?
He noticed that the plants had different traits and had patterns of inheritance that could be documented.
What is the difference between an ecosystem and an environment?
An ecosystem is all the living and nonliving things in the same place. An environment is only the area where something lives.
What term describes a color or pattern that helps an organism survive in its environment?
camouflage
How would you describe how two sibling ducks could have two different patterns of feather color?
Each sibling inherits some different traits from its parents.
How is it an advantage for the fur on some foxes to change to white when winter comes?
They can blend in with the snow to hunt for food and to hide from animals that would eat them.
What might happen to an organism if its environment changes?
The animal could become extinct if it cannot respond quickly enough to the changes in the environment. The animal could change enough to survive, and over generations it could become fit to live in the new habitat.