C. A1.
Adaptations of plants to suit the mountain habitat:
(i) The trees are cone-shaped with sloping branches that facilitate sliding
of snow and easy trickling of water.
(ii) The needle-like leaves of pine trees cut through snow.They have a
waxy coat to prevent water loss in dry weather.
(iii) Leaves are darker green so that they absorb more light for
photosynthesis.
Adaptations of plants to suit the desert habitat:
(i) The desert plants like cactus has fleshy green stems with a waxy
coating to prevent water loss. The stem stores food and water.
Photosynthesis occurs in fleshy green stems.
(ii) The leaves are modified to spines to prevent water loss by
transpiration. It also protects the fleshy stem from being eaten up by
herbivores.
(iii) The desert plants have long roots which spread out or penetrate
deep into the soil. For example,mesquite bush grows extensive root
systems in order to extract water present, deep inside the soil.
A2. Adaptations of camel in desert region are:
(i) The hump of the camel stores fat that is utilised when food is not
available.
(ii) A camel can drink up to 40 litres of water at one time and live
without drinking water for up to 5-6 days.
(iii) A camel has dry skin. It does not sweat and therefore it does not
lose water.
(iv) It excretes very little urine and breathes out little water vapour. Its
dung is also dry.
(v) The long legs keep its body away from hot sand. The padded feet
prevents sinking in the sand and facilitate walking on the sand.
(vi) The thick and long eyelashes protect the eyes from blowing sand
during sandstorms.
(vii) The nostrils have flaps, which keep them closed during sandstorms.
A3. Plants growing in aquatic conditions are called hydrophytes. The
adaptations in water plants are :
(i) Plants like lotus have roots fixed in soil of water bodies to hold it in
place. These plants have roots that are small and feeble.
(ii) The hollow and long stems of floating hydrophytes have air pockets
to make them float.
(iii) Water lily and lotus have large flat floating leaves with waxy coating
on their surface. This feature helps in repelling water, so that leaves do
not get wet and are thus prevented from rotting. The stomata are on
the upper surface of the leaf.
(iv) In tape grass, roots are reduced, stems are flexible, leaves are long
and ribbon-like to bend and withstand water currents.
(v) Hydrilla has thin, narrow and dissected (divided) leaves so that water
can flow easily through it without damaging it.
A4. Habitat can be broadly divided into terrestrial and
aquatic habitats :
Terrestrial habitat : The land where plants and animals
live form their terrestrial habitat. A variety of
habitats are found on land because of variations in abiotic
factors, such as temperature, sunlight and water. The important
terrestrial habitats are desert, mountain, grassland and forest.
(i) Desert habitat : The area that receives very little rain and therefore
has very little vegetation is called desert. Deserts can be hot deserts
such as Thar desert (India) and Sahara desert (Africa) or
cold deserts such as Atacama desert (Peru) and Gobi desert (China).
Camels, desert rats, rattle snakes, lizards, cactus and palm trees are
organisms that inhabit desert habitat.
(ii) Mountain habitat : Mountain habitats are very cold, dry
and windy. The polar regions are extremely cold where snow falls at
freezing temperature.Mountain goat, yak, polar bear, pine and
fir are some organisms found in the mountain habitat.
(iii) Grassland habitat : These are areas with thick growth of tall grass. A
large variety of wild animals are found in grassland habitat. They include
deer, zebra, giraffe, lion and leopard.
(iv) Forest habitat : Forests are large areas covered with trees and
plants. The forests have a large variety of organisms such as tall trees,
climbers, monkeys, lizards, snakes and birds.
Aquatic habitat : Aquatic habitat refers to water bodies
where large variety of plants and animals live. Aquatic habitats can be of
various types. These are marine, freshwater and coastal habitats.
(i) Marine habitat : It includes the salt water bodies like
oceans and seas. Various kinds of seaweeds, fish, whales and sharks are
found in marine water.
(ii) Freshwater habitat : It refers to rivers, lakes, streams and ponds.
Some organisms living in freshwater include fish, water lily and Hydrilla.
(iii) Coastal habitat : It refers to places where land meets
the sea. Coastal habitats include beaches,estuaries and mangroves.
Estuaries are bodies of water usually found where rivers meet the sea.
The mixture of salty water and freshwater creates a unique habitat. The
organisms found here include mangrove trees, seaweeds, crabs and
oysters.
A5. (i) Living things need food and water : While plants can
make their own food using carbon dioxide
and water, animals depend on plants directly or indirectly
for food.
(ii) Living things show growth : Food provides energy for
growth to all living organisms. A small
seedling grows into a plant. All young ones of animals
grow into adults.
(iii) Living things show movement : Living organisms can
physically move from one place to another
or move their body parts. Plant parts such as stems and
roots can also move in response to light,
touch and gravity.
(iv) Living things respond to stimuli : All living things
respond to external stimuli. Pulling our hand
back after a sudden prick and folding of the leaves of
“touch-me-not” plant on being touched are
some examples of responses to stimuli.
(v) Living things reproduce : Animals reproduce their own
kind by giving birth to young ones or by
laying eggs. Plants can reproduce by seeds or through
their vegetative parts like roots, stem and
leaves.
(vi) Living things respire : Respiration is the process by
which our body releases energy from the food
we eat. Plants also respire by taking in oxygen through
their stomata.
(vii) Living things excrete : Excretion is the process by
which our body gets rid of the waste products
formed as a result of various body processes. Carbon
dioxide, water vapour, sweat and urine are
some of the excretory wastes produced by our body.
Rubber, oils and resins are some of the useful
excretory wastes produced by plants.
