ADAPTATIONS 



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Wright Pierce 



How is this low plant with large succulent leaves fitted to live 

 in a desert ? 



function of grasping 

 objects. A structure 

 which is useful to an 

 organism in some 

 special way is called 

 an adaptation. 



Each part of a 

 plant or animal is 

 usually suited for 

 some particular 

 work. The root of 

 a green plant, for 

 example, is able to 

 take in water by 

 having tiny absorb- 

 ing root hairs grow- 

 ing from it. The stems have tubes to convey liquids up and 

 down from roots to leaves, and are strong enough to support the 

 leafy part of the plant. The thin, flat leaves are arranged to re- 

 ceive a very large amount of sunlight and to act as solar engines, 

 that is, using energy from the sun. Each part of a plant does 

 work, and is fitted, 

 by means of certain 

 structures, to do that 

 work. The lungs of 

 a land animal are able 

 to take oxygen from 

 the air, while the gills 

 of a fish can take their 

 supply of oxygen 

 only from the water ; 

 that is, from the air 

 that is dissolved in 

 water. It is because 

 of such adaptations 

 that organisms are whom Pierce 



able to live Within What might be the advantages of a large flat leaf to a plant ? 



