7th GradeUnit 4:

Inherited and Adaptive Traits for Survival

Lesson 2: Comparing Animal and Plant

Traits

Vocabulary of Instruction:

Adaptation• Changes in an

organism's physiological structure or function or habits that allow it to survive in new surroundings.

Camouflage• Structural and/or

phenotypical adaptations that enables species to blend with their surroundings; allows a species to avoid detection by predators.

Environmental Conditions• The ways things are in an

environment or biome. It includes climate, soil, and vegetation.

Inherited Traits• Traits or characters

that are genetically inherited features of an organism.

Brown Eyes

Blue Eyes

Light Hair

Brown Hair

Curly Hair

Straight Hair

Curled Tongue

Not Curled Tongue

Hair on Fingers

Bent Little Finger

Straight Little Finger

Widow’s Peak

No Peak

No Hair on Fingers

Survival• Is living despite bad

circumstances (extreme climate, lack of food or water, lack of shelter).

Survival of the Fittest• A natural process

resulting in the evolution of the organisms that are best adapted to the environment.