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Summaries · Grade 4 Natural Sciences › Habitats
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Habitats

Where plants and animals live, and how they are adapted to their habitat. Read one part at a time and tap “I know this”. Then test yourself in the quiz.

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What is a habitat?

A habitat gives an animal food, water and shelter. Everything living together in one place, plus the non-living things such as water and rocks, forms an ecosystem.

Each animal has its home: the desert, the river and the forest.
Each animal has its home: the desert, the river and the forest.
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Adaptations

Animal or plantAdaptationHow it helps
CamelHump with fatFood reserve in the desert
CactusThick stemStores water
Polar bearWhite furBlends in with the snow
DuckWebbed feet and oily, waterproof feathersSwims and floats; water runs off its feathers
OtterWebbed feet and thick, waterproof furSwims fast and stays warm in cold water
OwlBig eyes, sharp hearingHunts in the dark
OstrichLong legsRuns away fast
Meerkat tip

A meerkat digs a burrow to hide from danger and the heat.

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Protecting habitats

The biggest reason for habitat loss is that people clear land for houses, farms and roads. We protect habitats so that plants and animals can keep on living.

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Three African animals and their habitats

AnimalHabitat and why it suits it
HippopotamusRiver: it stays cool in the water by day and grazes on the grass along the bank at night
GiraffeSavanna: its long neck reaches the leaves high in the thorn trees
GemsbokDesert (Kalahari): it can go a long time without water and gets moisture from plants
Rule

A habitat gives an animal food, water, shelter, a safe place and a place to raise its young.

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Remember this and test yourself

Remember this: your summary
  • A habitat is the place where a plant or animal lives.
  • Habitats can be wet or dry: desert, forest, grassland, wetland, river, sea.
  • An adaptation is a feature that helps an animal or plant survive.
  • A habitat has living parts (plants, animals) and non-living parts (water, rocks, soil).
  • When people destroy a habitat, animals lose their food and shelter.

Write these points in your book. Read them again the night before the test.

Memory trick

Habitat = the animal’s Home: Here it finds food, water and shelter.

Flash cards · Tap to turn over

Important words

First say what the word means, then turn the card over.

Test yourself · Part 2

True or false?

Read the question and the answer. Is the answer right? Tap True or False.

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