Unit one: Systems

Lesson one: Adaptation &Survival

Ther e ar e many types of habitats

A habitat is a place where a collection of
plants and animals live, and provides them
with food and shelter

 So ever y living or ganism has its own

way to pr otect itself.
F actors affecting animal's survival:
1. Temperature
2. Abundance of water
3. Presence or absence of food and shelter.

Adaptation
- It is a feature or behaviors that help living organisms to survive.

Adaptations of penguins to sur vive in cold envir onment:

- Penguins live in Antar ctica – Polar r egion –
Polar climate.
- Penguins have fat layer and thick feather to
keep their body warm in the freezing cold.

How penguin keeps its toes feet fr om fr eezing:

- The warm blood vessels from body wr ap ar ound the
cold blood vessels to exchange heat before it is lost
to the ground.
- War m blood from the body moves down, while
cold blood from the feet moves up.

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Camouflage
It is an example of adaptation in which some animals hide from pr edator s or pr eys by
blending with surrounding environment.

(1) Polar bear

-It lives in arctic regions.
- It has white fur : To help it blends with snow, to sneak up on its
prey.
- Polar bear has thick fur : To keep it warm in cold arctic.

(2) Brown bear and dark bear:

- They live in forests.
- They have dar k fur : To stay hidden between trees as they
hunt their own preys.

(3) Caracal and fennec fox:

- They live in deser ts.
- They have sandy (tan) color ed fur :
To hide and blend with deser t
envir onment.
- At night to adapt for the low temperature,
they have thick fur, so they can survive.

(4) Lizard:
- It lives in desert between colorful rocks.
- It has color ful scales that make it hard to see it
between rocks.

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Types of Adaptations

1- Str uctur al adaptation

2- Behavior al adaptation
(physical adaptation)

Definition

It is a change in the structure of

It is a change in the behaviors (acts) of
animals body to adapt its
animals groups to adapt its environment.
environment.

Examples
The blood vessels in the penguin
Desert lizard looks for shade in hot sun.
feet.
Migration of some animals towards certain
The thick fur of the polar bear.
region.

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(1) Adaptation of foxes to survive in their environments:
F ennec fox Arctic fox
Habitat
It lives in hot deser t. It lives in tundr a.
Str uctur al adaptation
- It has thick fur coat, to keep body warm
- It has tan colored coat that help it in cold climate.
hide in sandy environment and - It has white fur coat in winter – brown in
protect it from the hot sun. summer,
To sneak up on prey in any season.

It has extra-large ears, for losing - It has short ears and legs,
heat and cooling its body. to help it stays warm.

It has a special shape of ears It has a special shape of ears

To allow good hearing for hunts. To allow good hearing for hunts

Behavior al adaptation

It pants like dogs, to cool its body.

It lives in burrows, to stay cool

It lives in burrows , to stay warm at night
in sunny days.

It eats different kinds of food, as it It eats different kinds of food, as it is hard

is hard to find food in desert to find food in tundra.

(2) Adaptation of Bull sharks to survive in their

environments:
Bull shark:
Habitat:
It lives in fresh and salty water(Unique advantage)
Str uctur al adaptation:
- It has dark back and white belly, to sneak up on prey by counter shading
strategy.
- It has sharp teeth to tear prey’s flesh.
Behavior al adaptation:
- It can hunt in salty and fresh water so; it feeds on different types of food.
- It hunts in the day and the night so; its prey can’t predict hunt time.

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(3) Adaptation of lizards to survive in their
environments.
Panther chameleon (lizard):
Habitat:
It lives in tropical rainforests.
Str uctur al adaptation
- It has bright colored scales, to camouflage with surrounding
environment.
- Its eyes move in opposite directions, one eye can search for food, while the
other eye detects the surrounding to avoid danger.
- It has very long sticky tongue, to hunt insects for feeding.
- It has V-shaped feet and tail like a hand, to hold tightly the branches of tree.
Behavior al adaptation
- It fills its body with air to look bigger in size and scare its enemies. Its
- It opens its mouth and changes the colours of its scales. At

Plant adaptation
(1) Savannah for est in Afr ica
- Lack of water – drought climate.
- Grassland soil has mild temperature.
Example:
Acacia tree (umbrella-shaped tree).

(2) Amazon r ainfor est of Br azil

- Plenty of water .
- Soggy soil (wet mud soil).
Example:
Kapok tree (umbrella-shaped tree).

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Adaptation of two terrific trees to survive in their environment:

Acacia tr ee Kapok tr ee
Habitat
It gr ows in Savannah for est in It gr ows in Amazon r ainfor est of
Afr ica. Br azil.
Str uctur al adaptation
-It has ver y long r oot (tapr oot) -It has lar ge wide r oots (buttr ess
To sear ch for water in deep soil. r oots)
To hold the tr ee in the soggy soil.
-It has ver y long tr unk
-Most animals can’t feed on its -The r oots gr ow up ar ound the tr unk
leaves To hold the tr ee in the soggy soil.
except gir affe.
-Acacia tr ee stor e water in its
tr unk.
-It has hand-shaped leaves with
-It has tiny leaves on its top nar r ow par ts.
To hold water to make food. To allow wind move gently without
tear ing (cutting).
It has shar p spines leaves
To pr otect fr om hungr y animals.
Behavior al adaptation
Acacia tr ee can defend itself:
- It pr oduces a poison when animal -It sends delicious smelling messages
eat its leaves. (bad taste) to invite bats by wind.
- Se -Send smelly message to near tr ee.

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 Examples of plants to survive with environment:
(1)- Mangr ove tr ee:
- It lives in salt water.
- It has long and strong roots to resist the waves.

(2)- Water lily:

-It lives in wetland.
-It has wide leaves float on water to absorb sunlight.

(3) -Palm tr ee:

- It lives in desert.
- It has thick r oots and small leaves to resist strong winds.

(4)-Pine tr ee:
- It lives in snow.
- It has tr iangle tr ee and shor t br anches to allow snow to slides over So,
don’t break.
- It has needle leaves prevent plant from lose of water.

(5)- Acacia tr ee:

- It lives in Savannah.
- Its br anches gr ow up to prevent animals from eating.

(6)- Bar bar y fig

- It lives in desert.
- It has shar p spines to prevent animals from eating.

Note: When plant is moved from original to different environment may die or adapted in
new environment.

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 Digestive system

* The body of living organism consists of systems as digestive - respiratory – nervous

system.
* Each system consists of or gans as two lungs – heart – stomach – brain.
Notes
Digestive and respiratory system are working together to get energy from food and
breathing.
 The body gets nutr ients from food to get energy.
 The body needs ener gy: To do activities as (walking ,
talking ,sleeping) To do body functions as (heart beating ,
breathing , thinking)

Human digestive system

Digestive system: A system breaks food into small parts that a body uses to get
energy.

Digestion pr ocess: It is the breakdown of large food particles into smaller, soluble ones that
can be absorbed into the body.

The str uctur e of the digestive system:

Mouth – Esophagus – Stomach – Small intestine – Large intestine.

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Notes: Digestive system star ts with mouth and ends with anus.
1- Mouth: Digestion of food begins in the mouth.
Mouth contains: Teeth – Tongue – Saliva (liquid substance in mouth )
 Function of teeth: It cuts and tears food during chewing.
 Function of tongue: It mixes food with saliva in mouth.
 Function of saliva: It facilitates the swallowing of food – digests star ch into sugar.

2- Esophagus: A long muscular tube.

 Function of esophagus: It moves the food down into the stomach.

3- Stomach: A muscular organ.

 Function of stomach: It mixes food with stomach acid to get
soupy liquid.

4- Small intestine: A long winding tube with length 6 meter.

 Food is broken into simple nutr ients.
 Pancr eas and liver : secrete juices in small intestine to help in
breaking down food into nutrients.
 The blood carry nutrients to all body parts.
 Function of small intestine: complete digestion of food –
absorb nutrients.

5- Lar ge intestine: A tube starts from end of small intestine and ends with anus.
 Function of lar ge intestine:
It absorbs water from wastes to become solid wastes come out through anus.

To keep digestive system healthy:

1- Chew the food well.
2- Don’t eat much fast meals.
3- Drink a lot of water.
4- Practice sports regularly.

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  The digestive system of cow and dog consists of:
Mouth – Esophagus – Stomach – Intestines.
Adaptation of digestive system of cow: (Long digestive
system) Cow has 4 stomach-like or gans as it eats gr ass
(difficult to be digested ). Cow has flat teeth suitable for eating
grass.

Adaptation of digestive system of dog: (Shor t digestive system)

Dog has one stomach as it eats meat (easy to be
digested ). Dog has shar p teeth suitable for eating
meat.

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 Respiratory System

Respir ator y system: is responsible for breathing,it

supplies the body with oxygen gas and gets rid of carbon
dioxide gas.

Respir ation pr ocess: A process by which air carry

oxygen gas into the body and get rid of air carrying
carbon dioxide gas out of the body

Human r espir ator y system consists of:

Nose – Throat – Trachea – Two lungs – Diaphragm.
 During breathing air pass from nose, throat, and trachea into two lungs (like 2
balloons).
 The trachea branches are two br onchi each bronchus branches into thinner tubes
called bronchioles.
 Air sacs (Alveoli) in lungs are surrounded by blood vessels to extract oxygen gas
from air.
 The blood carry oxygen gas to all body parts.
 Respiration includes: Inhalation and Exhalation process.

Diaphr agm: A large muscle directs inhalation and exhalation process.

In inhalation: diaphragm contracts down to enter oxygen gas – Chest size increase.
In exhalation: diaphragm relaxes upward to expel carbon dioxide out – Chest size
decrease.

To keep respiratory system healthy:

1-Avoid smoking and smoking areas.
2-Eat fruits rich in vitamin (C).
3-Breath clean air.

Adaptation of fish to breathe under water:

*Fish have gills to breathe.
*Gills are found on the sides of a fish’s head,under bony flaps that have the ability to open and close.
*Water enter the mouth of the fish and passes across the gills , then blood vessels in the gills carry oxygen
gas to the rest of the body.

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Fish use gills to take oxygen gas out of the water and release carbon dioxide gas.

Bony flaps

Gills

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Some of ecosystem changes are caused by:

(1) Nature itself:

1- Change in temperature.
2- The amount of rain fall from seasons.
3- Winds.
4- Wildfires and floods.

(2) Human activity:

1- Cutting down forests.
2- Plowing grassland.
3- The exhausts from cars and some factories cause air
pollution.
4- Bad habits ,such as throwing waste materials in water
cause water pollution.
5- Watering the soil with polluted water causes soil
pollution.

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 Amphibians

Note
Ninety species of amphibians became now extinct in the last 20 years.

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Lesson two: Senses at work
The Nervous system
It is a system that is responsible for:
1. Gathering information about what is going
in and outside your body .
2. Making sense of these information.
3. Responding on these information.

The nervous system consists of :

1- Br ain: Main control center of the body.

2- Spinal cor d : Carries messages from the
brain to the body and from the opposite.
3- Ner ve: Carry messages from the brain to
the spinal cord and other parts of the
body, as well as from other parts of the
body to the spinal cord and the brain.

How nervous system works:

1. Sensor y r eceptor s in sensory organs
receives information from environment.
2.Sensory receptors send messages to the brain.
3.Signals travel from sense organs along the nerves to the brain.
4.Brain determine what to do with the information sent.

Electrical impulses:
Are information transmitted in nerves.
- When you touch the spines of a cactus
plant, you withdraw your hands fast
from danger.
- Your hand moves away quickly when
you touch a very hot object

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 Reflex action:
When the brain receives a message , it then sends this message so fast , telling the body
how to react, this action is called reflex.

How animals sense and process information?

1. Jumping jerboa:
- It is a desert rodents with very large ears and small
eyes.
- Egyptian jerboa adaptation : it has long hind legs
to help it jump.
- A jerboa’s feet and toes have hair to help it catch
sand ( structural adaptation).
- Hopping a jerboa in zigzag paths to run away from
danger ( behavioral adaptation) .
*A jerboa has large ears that can hear even a quiet
snake.

How jerboa’s body work together to avoid danger?

When it hears a noise, the sensory receptors in the ears send a message by nerves, to
the brain which gives a quick message to the jerboa’s legs, to respond and avoid the
danger.

2. Dolphin
- Sound produced by dolphins travel in the form of waves called sound waves.
- Echo helps dolphins locate their preys.(echolocation)
Echo :It is the reflection (bouncing off) of sound waves back from a solid surface to its
source.

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Animals perception:

Animal Purpose Sense

Fox Avoiding danger. Hearing - Sight

Chameleon Searching for food Sight-taste

Dog Recognizing friend Smell and sight

Monkey Identifying things Touch-smell-sight-taste-

hearing.

Owl Searching for food sight

Bat Searching for food hearing

snake Locate their prey hearing

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Lesson three: Light & sight:
- Light is a form of energy.
- Light source: is something that gives its own
light.
- Examples: Sun, fire, stars, lamp and stars

How we see?
 Light rays travel in straight lines from the light
source.
 When it hits an opaque object, some light is absorbed and the rest reflects off to your
eyes.
 Noctur nal animals have night vision even in the absence of light, as these animals
have bigger eyes than humans.

Seeing through different materials

Optometrists can help us see:

Eye lens:A part inside your eyes that focuses the light onto the back of your eye.If the
lens in your eye does not focus properly , you may have blurry vision.

Optometrists :can test your eyes to see whether your eye lens is focusing properly or not.

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Lesson Four: Communication & information transfer:
Types of communication:
1. Displaying light.
2. Writing.
3. Echolocation .
4. High pitched sound.
5. A cell phone.
6. Morse code (communication system invented by Samuel Morse that work by forming
combinations of a dash and a dot to represent different letters of the alphabet).

Transferring information:
-We use our senses of sight,touch,taste,hearing and
smell to collect information about the world around
us.
- Senses are used to communicate or share information,
like in humpback whales that communicate in winter
using songs with different notes in matting seasons.

Animals communicate with movement:

- Humans can use variety of ways to communicate like waving hands “Hello”, or
shaking heads”No”.
- Honey bee use movement to communicate to find food and water by doing a special
dance, while vibrating their wings.
- Ants live in colonies of thousands and developed a system to divide their work into
different roles, using sense of smell.
- Bats use their ears to “see” in the dark using the echolocation (reflected sound).

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