Plant and Animal Structures

Lesson 1 - What do we know about animal parts?

Plants and animals have many adaptations that allow them to better survive in their environment. Physical adaptations are something an organism has built into its body, such as fur, venom, thorns, flowers, talons, teeth, etc. Behavioral adaptations are how an organism acts in order to survive. Growling, hibernating, making themselves look bigger, competing over a female, bending towards the sunlight, and losing leaves every fall are examples of behavioral adaptations.

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• Animal Adaptations
  • ​Some animals mimic other animals in order to avoid predators. Check out the videos on the mimic octopus to learn more about this interesting adaptation!
  • Other animals migrate in order to meet their basic needs. Check out the video on bird migration. Some examples of migrating animals include: Canadian geese, American Robin, & Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

Lesson 2 - Animal Structures

To survive, an animal must be able to take in and digest food, obtain nutrients, eliminate wastes, move, maintain body temperatures, grow, and reproduce. To accomplish this, each animal's body plan is well adapted to meet these needs.

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Lesson 3 - Plant Structures

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Like animals, plants have internal and external structures that serve different functions for survival, growth, and reproduction. Leaves are the site of photosynthesis a key life process in plants. The leaves gather energy from the sun and protect the plant against water loss and fungal or bacterial attacks. Roots anchor the plant, holding it upright in the soil. They also draw water and minerals from the soil and pass them upward to other parts of the plant. To assist in the water movement, plants have internal, vein-like structures called vascular tissues. These veins easily transport the water and minerals absorbed from the roots and carry it to other parts of the plant. The stem supports the plant structures that are above ground and also contains veins to help transport water all around the plant. ​

Lesson 4 - Animal Senses

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All living things have the ability to sense and respond within their environment. For example. plants have the ability to sense the sun and begin photosynthesis. When it rains. plants have the ability to sense the damp soil and absorb what they need. Plants even have the ability to sense the seasons and respond accordingly, whether it is to grow new leaves or flower buds in the spring or to shed their leaves in the fall.

Animals, particularly those with brains. sense their environment in different ways. Many animals with brains rely on their five senses to survive in the world. The five main senses include smell taste, sound, touch, and sight. Some animals rely on certain senses more than others.

Animal senses work in complex ways. All over the animal's body are receptors that interact with the world. Once a receptor is engaged. whether it is a taste receptor like a taste bud or a nerve receptor at the end of a finger, a message is rapidly sent through the body. That message is sent directly to the brain for processing. Once a message is received, the brain processes the information and sends out a message of response.

Lesson 5 - Exploring the Eye

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The human eye, like most mammal eyes is like a camera. In order for our eyes to work, light needs to reflect off an object or be emitted from an object, like a lamp. Without light, it is not possible for us to see. When light bounces off an object, it enters our eye through the cornea.

From there, the light passes through an opening called the pupil. The pupil can change size thanks to the muscular iris, the colored part that surrounds it. In low light, the iris relaxes and the pupil gets larger. This larger opening allows more light in and improves our ability to see objects in low light. If the light is bright, very little needs to be let into the eye, so the iris contracts and makes the pupil very small.

After light passes through the pupil, it hits the lens, which is located directly behind the iris. The lens focuses all the light coming into the eye. The focused light then travels though a gelatinous material called the vitreous humor, and then hits the back of the eye, or the retina. The retina is made of rods and cones that llow us to see color and that change the picture into something the brain can understand. The image created as light hits the retina is actually upside dodwn and backwards compared to the original.