1. ADAPTATION Essential Lab #12 Part B
Keisha Kidd, Curriculum Support Specialist
Mary Tweedy, Curriculum Support Specialist
Millard Lightburn, PHD, Instructional Supervisor
Department of Mathematics and Science

2. Big Idea 17 Interdependence Compare and contrast adaptations
SC.5.L.17.1 (also assesses SC.3.L.17.1, SC.4.L.16.2, SC.4.L.17.1, SC and SC.5.L.15.1)
Compare and contrast adaptations
displayed by animals and plants that
enable them to survive in different
environments such as life cycle
variations, animal behaviors, and
physical characteristics.
Pacing Guide
2/19 – 3/1 (9 days)

3. Item Specifications Benchmark Clarifications
Students will explain, compare, and/or contrast how adaptations displayed by animals or plants enable them to survive in different environments.
Students will distinguish plant or animal characteristics that are inherited from those that are affected by the environment.
Students will identify characteristics of animals that are inherited characteristics from those shaped by learning.
Student will identify ways in which plants and/or animals can impact the environment.

4. Engage
Hold your thumbs against your palms and then untie and tie their shoes.
If you don’t have laces, write your name on a sheet of paper.

5. Were these tasks difficult?
Thumbs are an adaptation that help us do many things. All animals have body parts and other physical adaptations that help them to survive.
We will take a look at the physical adaptations that plants have for survival.

6. Essential Question:
Explain how characteristics of plants can be affected by the environment.

7. Problem statement:
Which leaf surface adaptations, waxy, fuzzy, or uncoated repels water the best?
Hypothesis:
If I put the same amount of water on each leaf, then the ___________leaf will repel water the best.

8. Refer to Essential Lab #11
Let’s Explore
Refer to Essential Lab #11
Part B
Adaptation!
Plant Survivors

9. Data Chart

10. Explain What was investigated?
Was your hypothesis supported by the data?
Look at the leaf dryness ratings. What information can you learn from the data you gathered?
What is the most interesting discovery you made from the experiment?
List three questions that you can answer using the rating results (make believe you are the teacher).

11. Plants adaptations allow them to live in specific environments.
Some adaptations are only helpful because of the environment in which a plant lives.
Click on the cactus to explore a web site and learn about plant adaptations in different environments.
Go to the linked web site and explore plant adaptations in a variety of environments.

12. Group Discussion Round Table:
Beginning with the tallest person in your collaborative group, take turns going around the table in a clockwise direction telling one adaptation made by a plant which allows it to survive in its environment.

13. Like plants, animal adaptations allow them to live in specific environments.
Some adaptations are only helpful because of the environment in which a plant lives.
Select several animals from the links on the left of the web site. Students talk about how the adaptations help with the animals survival in specific environments.
Click on the camel to explore a web site and learn about animal adaptations in different environments.

14. Group Discussion Round Table:
Beginning with the tallest person in your collaborative group, take turns going around the table in a clockwise direction telling one adaptation made by an animal which allows it to survive in its environment.

15. Here are some examples of adaptations:
An ADAPTATION is a characteristic or trait that helps an organism survive in its environment.
Here are some examples of adaptations:
In drier, temperate deciduous forests a thick bark helps to limit moisture evaporation from the tree's trunk. Since this is not a concern in the high humidity of tropical rainforests, most trees have a thin, smooth bark. The smoothness of the bark may also make it difficult for other plants to grow on their surface.
Students should use the word characteristic. Trait will not be used on the FCAT.
Camouflage is a type of adaptation that allows animals to blend in with their surroundings. During summer months, the Arctic fox has a brown coat. During winter, the coat of the Arctic fox is white, matching its icy, snowy surroundings.

16. Guided Practice
1. Some plants have thick and waxy layers on top of their leaves. This reduces water loss from evaporation. Where would a plant without waxy leaves grow successfully?
where it is very cold at night
where it is very hot during the day
where there is plenty of water available
where there is very little water available

17. (where there is plenty of water available).
The correct answer is C
(where there is plenty of water available).
A. Plants without waxy leaves may not grow successfully where it is very cold at night. Being very cold at night does not mean that overall evaporation rates would be low. Deserts, for instance, may have hot days and cold nights.
B. Plants without waxy leaves would not grow successfully where it is very hot during the day. Areas that are very hot during the day will have high rates of evaporation and, therefore, be likely to have plants with thick, waxy layers on their leaves.
C. Plants without waxy leaves would not grow successfully where there is very little water available. Plants in dry areas are likely to be adapted to limit water loss by having thick, waxy layers on their leaves.

18. 2. The snowshoe rabbit has white fur in the winter and brown fur in the summer. Which of the following can you infer about the snowshoe rabbit?
It has adapted to blend in with its environment.
It has a disease.
It travels south for the winter.
It was brought from another country.

19. (it is adapted to blend with its environment).
The correct answer is A
(it is adapted to blend with its environment).
This fur color change is typical of healthy snowshoe rabbits.
The white fur helps the snowshoe rabbit blend in with the snowy winter environment in the north.
The snowshoe rabbit is adapted well to the environment from which it originates.

20. 3. Koala bears eat leaves from eucalyptus trees
3. Koala bears eat leaves from eucalyptus trees. If very cold weather killed most of the eucalyptus trees, which of the following would probably NOT happen?
Koalas would compete for leaves that were left.
Koalas would move farther away to look for food.
The number of koalas in the area would be less.
The number of koalas in the area would be more.

21. (The number of koalas in the area would be more).
The correct answer is D
(The number of koalas in the area would be more).
A. It is true that the koalas would have to continue to compete for a limited food supply.
B. As food became more scarce, koalas would begin to wander further in search of food.
C. Because of the limited food supply, some koalas would not survive.

22. Science Journal
What adaptations of organisms allow them to thrive in their environments?
Make sure that the students understand the meaning of the word “thrive- to grow or develop well or vigorously”.

23. Check your understanding!
Polar bears have adapted to live in very cold places where it snows often. Which of the following adaptations helps polar bears to survive?
They eat plants.
They are food for other large animals.
They have small tails.
They have fur that appears white.
Note that a polar bear actually has semi-transparent fur, not white.

24. 2. The nuttall rabbit has adapted to live in the desert
2. The nuttall rabbit has adapted to live in the desert. Which of the following is it likely to eat?
cactus
corn
seeds
smaller animals

25. 3. During long periods of dry weather many plants have a special adaptation that helps to keep them from losing water. What is this adaptation?
They make seeds.
They grow more leaves.
They get shorter.
Their leaves curl up.

26. 4. The camel has a special adaptation that makes it easier it to live in the desert. What is this adaptation?
It stores water in its body.
It has large hooves.
It has a long neck.
Its body is covered with fur.

27. Sample FCAT 2.0 Question
Sample Item 24 SC.5.L.17.1 Loggerhead sea turtles are large turtles that live in the ocean and nest on the Florida coast. The female loggerhead sea turtle lays more than 100 eggs in the beach sand. How is laying so many eggs an important adaptation that helps these turtles to survive? A. Large nests of eggs help keep the eggs warm enough to allow more turtles to hatch. B. If many turtles hatch, they can help defend each other against predators in large numbers. C. The more eggs that are laid, the greater the chance that more turtles will live to become adults. D. A large number of eggs in one place makes it possible for the mother to lie on the eggs until they hatch.

28. Sample FCAT 2.0 Question
Sample Item 24 SC.5.L.17.1 Giant pandas live in the mountain forests of China and eat mostly bamboo. The giant panda has a sixth “finger,” while other bears have only five. The sixth finger is a large wrist bone that giant pandas are able to bend and use as a thumb. The picture below shows the paw of a giant panda with six fingers and the paw of another bear with five fingers. Giant Panda Paw Bear Paw with Six Fingers with Five Fingers Sixth Finger Which of the following statements best explains why the sixth finger helps the giant panda survive in its environment? A. It helps the giant panda hold the bamboo stalks it feeds on. B. It helps the giant panda crush the bamboo stalks before it eats them. C. It allows the giant panda to dig in the mountain forests to hide its food. D. It allows the giant panda to climb to the tops of mountain forests to find food.

29. Evaluate
Create a class data table, identifying the average results of each of the “raincoat” ratings from the different groups in the class. Compare and contrast all the data.
Analyze whole class data.
Discuss why some data are the same and why some data are different.
Discuss what constant variables could have affected the results.

30. Journal Writing Reflection
Choose a plant or an animal. Write a first person paragraph explaining how YOUR adaptations (as the plant or the animal) have helped you survive in your environment.

31. Extension GIZMOS Take a nature walk and collect various leaf samples.
Use hand lens to observe and record plant adaptation characteristics.
Include similarities, differences and summarize findings in science journals.
GIZMOS
Pond Ecosystem
Water Pollution

32. References/Resources
Polk County Public Schools
Plant Adaptation Site
Animal Adaptation