VC2S6U02

organisms have evolved over time, as seen in fossils and scientific records; the structural features and behaviours of living organisms enable them to thrive in their environments

• identifying physical and behavioural characteristics that enable a plant or animal to survive, such as being able to see in dim light or being nocturnal
• exploring features of plants and animals that enable them to survive in Australia’s desert environments, such as those of the bottle tree (boab) and the water-holding frog
• analysing the advantages and disadvantages of particular adaptations, for example having 2 or 4 feet, having different-shaped beaks, having gills/lungs, having coloured/scented flowers or having smooth/hairy leaves
• investigating how camouflage is used by animals to hide from predators and to ambush prey
• using physical or digital simulations to investigate how the shapes of animals’ body parts, such as the beak of a particular bird species, influence their ability to find food and survive in a specific environment
• exploring how variation in offspring over time has resulted in animals being more or less able to survive in particular environments, for example how the necks of modern giraffes are longer than those of their ancestors, or the ability of chameleons to change colour and the long hibernation time of eastern pygmy possums
• investigating Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ knowledges of the structural features of certain species and how those features can be utilised through biomimicry, for example construction of fishing spears that demonstrate the adoption of stingray defence mechanisms such as the barb on a stingray’s tail