Leaders International College 

        2021/2022 MYP

Study Sheet
Unit 1: How Do We Respond To Our World?

What’s adaptation?

Adaptation: is the physical or behavioural characteristic of an organism that helps an

organism to survive better in the surrounding environment.”

 Types of Adaptation:

1-Structural Adaptations: 2-Behavioural Adaptations:

These involve the physical features of an This is the change that affects the behavior of an
organism that help them to survive in the organism. The ways a particular organism
environment. behaves to survive in its natural habitat.

 Camouflage: is an adaptation that helps an organism blend in with the surroundings so

that it is not noticeable.It is an Adaptation that protects the animals from their predators.

 Humans have five basic senses (5 Senses). The sensing organs associated with each
sense send information to the brain to help us understand and perceive the world around
us.

-page 1-
 Leaders International College          2021/2022 MYP

 Senses and Sense Organs:

Sense Organs and their corresponding stimulus:

Sense organs Stimulus

Skin Touch, temperature

Tongue Chemicals (in food and drink, for example)
Nose Chemicals (in the air, for example)
Eye Light
Ear Sound

 Human Adaptability: Example: Sweating: Our ability to regulate body

temperature further helped our endurance abilities. Humans can really
take the heat.

 Stimulus – Response Theory:

The changes in the environmental conditions to which the organisms respond are known
as “stimuli”.
Every living organism responds when an external stimulus act on it.

In Stimulus–Response (S–R) theories a response of an organism (when it is performing some

action) is the outcome of stimulation at a preceding moment.

-page 2-
§ Plant Adaptation:
 Leaders International College          2021/2022 MYP

Tropism: In order to survive, plants require light and water for photosynthesis. They have
developed responses called tropisms to help ensure they grow towards adequate sources of
light and water.

§ There are two main types of tropisms:

1-Positive tropisms – the plant grows towards the stimulus.
2-Negative tropisms – the plant grows away from the stimulus.

§ Phototropism is a response to the stimulus of light.

In the plant stem, responses to light are known In the plant root, responses to light are known
as a positive phototropism, which means the as a negative phototropism, which means the
stem grows towards the light. root grows away from the light.

§ Plants responses to Gravity: is a response to the stimulus of gravity.

When a root grows in the direction of the force of When the stem grows against the force of
gravity, this is known as a “positive geotropism” gravity, this is known as a “negative geotropism”

-page 3-
§ Plants responses to Water: “Hydrotropism” is the movement or the growth
of a plant in relation to the stimulus of water.
 Leaders International College          2021/2022 MYP

In this type of movement, roots show the positive hydrotropism, as they move and grow
towards the water.

§ Sensory adaptation: is defined as the diminished sensitivity to a stimulus as a

consequence of constant exposure to that stimulus. So, if that stimulus remains
unchanged in the environment, the result is a lack of attention to that particular
stimulus.

-page 4-
Importance of Adaptation:
 Leaders International College          2021/2022 MYP

§ Natural Selection is the process through which populations of living

organisms adapt and change. Individuals in a population are naturally variable, meaning
that they are all different in some ways.
§ This Variation means that some individuals have traits better suited to the
environment than others. Individuals with adaptive traits—traits that give them some
advantage—are more likely to survive and reproduce.
§ These individuals then pass the adaptive traits on to their offspring. Over time, these
advantageous traits become more common in the
population.

Evolution Through Natural Selection

Evolution is the change in the characteristics of a species over several generations and relies
on the process of natural selection.

Important Notes:
§ Individuals in a species show a wide range of variation.
§ Inherited variation is due to differences in their genes.
§ Individuals with the features that are best suited to the environment are more likely to
survive and reproduce.
§ The genes that allow these individuals to be successful are passed to their offspring.
§ Individuals that are poorly adapted to their environment are less likely to survive and
reproduce. This means that their genes are less likely to be passed to the next
generation.

-page5-