Life in the Cold
What polar and tundra environments are like, how plants and animals are adapted to the extreme cold, and the opportunities and challenges of developing cold places.
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Free interactive practice at using the material, which is what the marks are for.
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Surviving the deep cold
Cold environments are among the harshest places on Earth, with freezing temperatures, frozen ground and months of near darkness. Yet plants and animals have clever adaptations that let them survive, and people find both opportunities and challenges there. This module looks at what cold environments are like, how life copes, and how the land is used.
Cold words to know
Learn these before you sort the features.
Polar against tundra
Cold environments come in two main types.
Name it, then say how it helps
In the exam, name a feature or adaptation and then say exactly how it helps survival: thick fur traps heat, white coats hide an animal in the snow, and low-growing plants keep out of the freezing wind. When you write about development, weigh an opportunity against a challenge rather than giving only one side.
Match the animal adaptation
- thick fur or blubber
- a white coat
- small ears and limbs
- migrating in winter
- traps heat against the cold
- hides the animal in the snow
- loses less body heat
- escapes the hardest season
Match the plant adaptation
- growing low to the ground
- growing fast in summer
- shallow roots
- small leaves
- keeps out of the freezing wind
- makes the most of the short season
- sits above the frozen permafrost
- loses less water and heat
Why a white coat?
Why do many cold-environment animals have a white coat?
- It camouflages them against the snow.
- White is the only warm colour.
- So they can be seen easily.
- To stay clean in the snow.
Cold-environment challenges
Select the TWO genuine challenges of developing a cold environment.
- The extreme cold
- Being remote and hard to reach
- Rich fishing grounds nearby
- Valuable minerals to extract
Count the dark hours
On a summer day in the far north the sun is up for 22 hours. Subtract from 24 to find how many hours of darkness there are that day. What is the answer?
Order the survival logic
Put the reasoning about a cold-environment adaptation in order, earliest first.
- Body heat is easily lost
- The animal has thick fur
- Heat is trapped near the body
- The animal survives the cold
Complete the summary
A region of permanent ice is called _____, while a cold region with low shrubs and a short summer is called _____. Ground that stays frozen all year is _____. Many animals survive the cold with thick fur that _____ heat.
Spot the opportunities
Tap the TWO development opportunities a cold environment can offer.
- minerals and energy to extract
- rich fishing grounds
- the dangerous extreme cold
- being far from any city
Judge the cold
Read each detail and choose the best label.
- An animal grows thick blubber under its skin to keep warm. What is this an example of?
- A company drills for oil found beneath a frozen region. What is this?
- Builders find it hard to lay foundations because the ground is frozen solid all year. What is this?
Explain life in the cold
Explain how plants and animals are adapted to survive in a cold environment, and give one opportunity and one challenge of developing a cold place.
- Describe the difference between a polar and a tundra environment
- Explain one plant and one animal adaptation and how each helps
- Give one development opportunity and one challenge