Grade 4 · Science · Unit 3 of 9
Adaptations
How bodies help living things survive
What your child practises
Features such as webbed feet, thick fur, camouflage, big ears and water-storing stems, and how each helps a plant or animal survive in a particular habitat.
Ontario Curriculum expectation: B2.6 · structural adaptations of plants and animals that help them survive in their habitats
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Why do many conifers like pine and spruce have thin needles and flexible branches?
🌲- snow slides off and they lose less water
- to make seeds heavier
- to attract more bees
- to hide from owls
Show answer
snow slides off and they lose less water
Hint: Needles are waxy and branches bend without breaking.
Question 2
A beaver has a flat tail and webbed back feet. How do they help?
🦫- they help it fly
- they help it dig tunnels in the desert
- they help it climb trees
- they help it swim
Show answer
they help it swim
Hint: A flat tail and webbed feet push water.
Question 3
Which adaptation would help an animal live in a cold place?
🦭- thin skin
- a bare body
- a thick layer of fat
- large ears
Show answer
a thick layer of fat
Hint: Fat acts like a blanket.
Question 4
A snowshoe hare has big, furry back feet. How do they help?
🐇- they help it dig underground
- they help it swim
- they keep it cool
- they work like snowshoes on deep snow
Show answer
they work like snowshoes on deep snow
Hint: Wide feet spread out the weight.
Question 5
A fennec fox has huge ears. They help it by…
🦊- helping it fly
- helping it swim
- releasing body heat in the desert
- keeping it warm in snow
Show answer
releasing body heat in the desert
Hint: Big ears have lots of blood vessels that give off heat.
Question 6
A great horned owl has big eyes and soft feathers. How do they help?
🦉- it can glide on ice
- it can dig
- it can swim
- it can see in the dark and fly quietly
Show answer
it can see in the dark and fly quietly
Hint: Owls are night hunters.