Experiment 14 — Design an Animal That Survives

Topic: Biology · Classes 6–7 · The living organism and its surroundings: adaptation

Aim: Choose four features that let your animal survive in the Thar Desert .

Daily: The camel, the desert fox and the chinkara all live in Rajasthan by these very adaptations — while the yak in Ladakh and the otter in the Sundarbans need the exact opposite. Nothing is “best”; everything is suited to somewhere.

Skin: Body covering: thick woolly fur belongs on a Ladakhi yak and blubber on a seal. A desert animal needs thick leathery skin with little hair , which reduces water loss without trapping heat.

Water: Water: there are no streams to drink from and no gills to use. The animal must store fat and lose as little water as possible , passing very concentrated urine — as a camel does.

Time: Activity: being active in the midday heat wastes water and risks overheating. Desert animals are mostly active at night and shelter in burrows by day.

Feet: Feet: webbed feet suit a pond and claws suit a tree. On loose sand the animal needs broad padded feet that spread its weight so it does not sink.

Question: Why does a camel have broad, padded feet?

Exp: Wide feet spread the load over loose sand, just as snowshoes do on snow.

Question: An adaptation is a feature that…

Exp: Adaptations develop over many generations.

Question: Thick fur and a large lung capacity suit an animal of the…

Exp: Like the yak of Ladakh, in cold thin air.

Question: Most desert animals are active at night because…

Exp: Avoiding the midday heat conserves water.

Question: Destroying a habitat is serious because…

Exp: Their adaptations suit that place in particular.

Question: A trolley covers 12 m in 8 s. Its speed is…

Question: To measure a stone’s volume correctly you must…

Exp: Full submersion plus an eye-level reading avoids both errors.

Question: The time period of a pendulum depends on…

Question: You turn a mirror through 20°. The reflected ray turns through…

Exp: The reflected ray turns by twice the mirror’s rotation.

Question: Which spoon heats up fastest in hot water?

Exp: Copper is the best conductor of the three.

Question: Which change strengthens an electromagnet?

Exp: Turns, current and an iron core all increase the field.

Question: Turmeric paper turns red when dipped in…

Exp: Turmeric reddens in a base.

Question: Which is a chemical change?