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Plant and animal adaptations in tropical rainforests
I can explain how plants and animals in tropical rainforests are well adapted to the physical conditions.
Lesson 2 of 16
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New
- Year 10
- AQA
Plant and animal adaptations in tropical rainforests
I can explain how plants and animals in tropical rainforests are well adapted to the physical conditions.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Tropical rainforests are home to a wide variety of plants and animals.
- Plants are adapted to the physical conditions in tropical rainforests, for example, drip tips and buttress roots.
- Animals are well adapted to the physical conditions in tropical rainforests.
Keywords
Biodiversity - the variety of species found in a habitat
Adaptations - a feature or behaviour that helps an animal or plant survive in its environment
Habitat - the natural place where a plant or animal lives and grows
Common misconception
The challenges faced by plants and animals in the canopy layer are the same as challenges on the forest floor.
Plants and animals face different challenges in the different habitats of the tropical rainforest. For example, plants on the forest floor have to have adaptations for low light levels.
Virtual reality tours of the tropical rainforest will allow students to better understand the adaptations of plants and animals living in each layer of the tropical rainforest. BBC Earth's 'The "busy" life of the sloth' is an engaging way into this topic, for example.
Teacher tip
Equipment
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which word is described in this definition "a feature or behaviour that helps an animal or plant survive in its environment"?
Which word is described in this definition "a feature or behaviour that helps an animal or plant survive in its environment"?
skill
biology
Q2.Which of the following is an adaptation of tropical rainforest plants to cope with heavy rainfall?
Which of the following is an adaptation of tropical rainforest plants to cope with heavy rainfall?
Small leaves that lose less water
Large roots to absorb more water
Deep roots to reach underground water
Q3.Match the adaptation with the correct plant or animal.
Match the adaptation with the correct plant or animal.
Q4.Why do rainforest animals, like frogs and insects, have brightly coloured skin?
Why do rainforest animals, like frogs and insects, have brightly coloured skin?
To camouflage with flowers
To find each other in the dark
Q5.Tropical rainforest are located between the Tropics of and .
Tropical rainforest are located between the Tropics of and .
Q6.Which of the following best defines a biome?
Which of the following best defines a biome?
A specific habitat where an organism lives
A small ecosystem within a city
A type of plant found in a forest
Assessment exit quiz
4 Questions
Q1.What does the term biodiversity refer to in a tropical rainforest?
What does the term biodiversity refer to in a tropical rainforest?
The number of trees in the rainforest
The amount of rainfall in the region
The average temperature of the forest
Q2.What is the difference between adaptations and changes an organism makes during its lifetime?
What is the difference between adaptations and changes an organism makes during its lifetime?
Adaptations occur over a short period of time, lifetime changes take generations
Both adaptations and lifetime changes happen within a single generation
Adaptations only happen in plants, not animals
Q3.Why is adaptation important?
Why is adaptation important?
Q4.What does it mean if plants and animals are interdependent?
What does it mean if plants and animals are interdependent?
When animal species in different habitats have evolved similar adaptations
When plants and animals can survive independently without needing each other
