Survival
TRUE or FALSE: Animals that live in groups, like dogs, need ways to communicate with one another.
True
TRUE or FALSE: ALL offspring (babies) of the same two parents look EXACTLY the same
False (because of trait variation)
True or False: Plants and animals ONLY adapt to become better at getting food.
FALSE - plants and animals adapt to become better at surviving, getting food, and protecting themselves
Define "environment"
The place where an animal or plant lives. It includes everything around them — like the air, water, weather, land, and other living things — that helps them survive.
Define "survival"
An organism's (a living thing's) ability to stay alive and thrive in its environment
Animals that live in groups are less likely to...
A. Share their food
B. Feel sad
C. Get eaten by predators
D. Survive when their environment changes, such as during a natural disaster
C. Get eaten by predators
There are so many different dog breeds because...
A. Dogs have a lot of puppies
B. People chose to breed dogs with traits they wanted
C. Puppies were different from their parents
B. People chose to breed dogs with traits they wanted
Which of the following is an adaptation that helps protect the animal?
A. Cows have incisor teeth
B. A porcupine has sharp quills
C. Hummingbirds have long, skinny beaks
D. Cacti have thick, pleated stems
B. A porcupine has sharp quills
Define "trait"
A characteristic of a living thing that is passed down from parents (or other ancestors) to offspring
Define "predator"
Animal that hunts other animals for food
Why are green anoles such good climbers?
A. They like to climb trees
B. They need to climb to get food that is high
C. The green anoles which were poor climbers were more likely to get eaten by the brown anoles, so they had fewer babies
C. The green anoles which were poor climbers were more likely to get eaten by the brown anoles, so they had fewer babies
True or False: The environment can influence the traits of living things
True
Why do plants and animals adapt to their environment?
A. To become better at getting food
B. To protect themselves against other animals
C. To become better able to survive in their surroundings
D. All of the above
D. All of the above
Define an "adaptation"
A special characteristic that helps an organism survive
Define "trait variation"
When individuals of the same kind of living thing have small differences in their characteristics
For example, puppies from the same parents might have different fur colors or snout shapes because they inherit different combinations of traits
What is the purpose of animal group behavior?
To help animals survive
Chickens living today have bigger eggs than chickens that lived a long time ago. How do you think that happened?
People selected and mated the chickens that had the biggest eggs. Then, they selected their babies that had the biggest eggs. Selection over many years led to chickens today that have really big eggs.
Which of the following is an adaptation that helps the animal eat?
A. Squirrels are the colors of the trees they live in
B. Pelicans have big beaks
C. Cacti are covered in spikes
D. Rainforest plants have waxy leaves
B. Pelicans have big beaks
Define "organism"
Any living thing
Define "evolve"
The process by which populations of organisms gradually change over generations through changes in their genetic material
How does living in a group help animals survive? Give at least two animal examples.
Example responses: helps them avoid getting eaten by predators, helps them get food, helps them survive when the environment changes
Imagine a dog mom has brown fur and the dog dad has black fur. What color of fur will the puppies most likely have? Explain why.
The puppies will probably have fur that is a mix of brown and black — maybe dark brown or black with some brown spots.
That’s because puppies get half of their genes from their mom and half from their dad. The color of their fur depends on which fur color genes they get from each parent. If brown and black mix, the puppies’ fur might look a little like both!
When there was a drought in the Galapagos, only large, hard seeds were available as food. Only large-beaked finches were adapted to eat these kinds of seeds. How did this affect the survival of small-beaked finches?
The small-beak finch population were less likely to survive and many died because their source of food was no longer widespread.
The average beak size of finches thus increased as only large-beaked finches had a readily available food source, and the smaller-beaked finches died off.
Define "camouflage"
An adaptation that allows animals to blend into their surroundings
Define "natural selection"
A process in which organisms evolve to adapt to environment