Year 9 - Science
Impacts of climate change on biodiversity
Climate change and biodiversity
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
In this unit pupils learn about the impact of agriculture and deforestation on biodiversity, and to more thoroughly consider the effects of climate change on biodiversity and food production.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to describe impacts of climate change on biodiversity, including plants and animals.
Key Notes
- Species have adaptations that enable them to live and thrive in the conditions of their habitat
- Human emissions of greenhouse gases are leading to global warming and climate change
- Climate change is changing the conditions in habitats, so species may be less well adapted to live there
- Some, but not all, species can survive changes in conditions by migrating to a new habitat
- Climate change, including more frequent extreme weather events, can lead to biodiversity loss
Vocabulary To Learn
- habitat: the place where an organism lives, which provides the organism with food, shelter and a place to reproduce
- adaptation: a feature that organisms have to help them live and survive in a particular place
- climate change: a long-term shift in weather patterns
- biodiversity: the range of different living organisms (species) in an ecosystem
- evolution: the characteristics of species gradually change over time, sometimes forming new species; this process is called evolution
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Thinking that species can choose or plan to evolve new adaptations to help them to survive climate change.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.
Species have adaptations that enable them to live and thrive in the conditions of their habitat. Human emissions of greenhouse gases are leading to global warming and climate change.
2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'habitat'
the place where an organism lives, which provides the organism with food, shelter and a place to reproduce. Include the word in a full scientific explanation, not as a single label.
3. Correct this common scientific misunderstanding.
Mistake: Thinking that species can choose or plan to evolve new adaptations to help them to survive climate change. Correction: Part 2 of the lesson explores the idea that evolution occurs at random and may be too slow to save many species from climate change.
More Lessons In This Unit
Browse all guides in the Year 9 Science guide library.