What are adaptations? Describe any three adaptations of aquatic animals, with an example of each.

How to lay out the answer. Follow the frame, then write it in your own words.

1 · Define. Adaptations are special features that allow an organism to live in a particular habitat.
2 · Body shape. A streamlined body, pointed at both ends, cuts friction in water: fish.
3 · Moving. Fins or flippers to swim and steer (fish, whale); webbed feet as paddles (duck).
4 · Breathing and floating. Gills take oxygen from water (fish, prawn); an air-filled swim bladder helps a fish float.
5 · Keeping warm. Blubber under the skin insulates a whale.
6 · Close in one line. So each feature suits the animal to life in water.

Scoring tip: Pair every adaptation with an animal; the example earns the mark.