The environment influences a plant or animal's traits. Depending on the conditions that the animal or plant lives in, they will make adaptations to survive. These cats are living in very different situations, and this will impact the traits of the cats. Their weight, health, and comfort with people will all be affected by the conditions they live in. Cat A has access to food, clean water, medical care, and daily positive interactions with people, whereas Cat B is scared of people, eats scraps, and drinks dirty water. These different living situations will impact the cats' physical and behavioral traits.

Organisms are born with specific traits inherited from their parents, but the environment can influence them. Farmer McGraw planted his seeds to close together so the roots were restricted and could not grow to their full potential. He is going to have less yield than if he had listened to Farmer Hill because he will not have as many plants grow. The environment the seeds were planted in restricted their ability to grow appropriately.

The daisy does not have a trait variation that gives it a survival advantage. All of the other plants have a defense mechanism, thorns. The cactus, the rose, and the spurred bush all have spikey thorns on the stems to protect the plant from being eaten. This is a trait variation that gives it an advantage over other plants in the area that do not have a way to protect themselves.

All animals in a group are not the same. Animals inherit traits from their parents as well as learn them based on observation and teaching. Over time animals' characteristics will vary depending on their conditions and survival needs. An animal may develop camouflage or other defense tactics to protect itself and keep it from being eaten. As demands for survival change, so do animal traits.

The animal that is demonstrating a trait that gives it a survival advantage is an owl. It is so well camouflaged with the tree that a predator is less likely to see it. Over time animals and plants will have variations in their traits that help them to survive in their specific conditions. The animals or plants that can adapt will outlive those who cannot.

The term variation refers to something that changes or is different. When there is a variation in color or pattern, like in the example, that means there is a change in the shade or design. Animals and plants may also have a variation in traits, which means that over time their characteristics may change or adapt to the environment they are living in to help them survive.

The cheetah is just one of many predators in Africa, hunting for food daily. The cheetah has a variation in its traits that makes it unique and well suited for the environment it lives in and the prey it hunts. The cheetah has developed over many years the ability to run incredibly fast. When hunting gazelles and other fast land animals, the cheetah has to be able to outrun and catch the prey. These high speeds have helped the cheetah survive while other predators have not done so well.

Traits can be learned or inherited and aid animals and plants in survival. Variations are changes or differences. A variation in a trait is a change or difference in the trait. As plants or animals need to adapt to changes in their environment, their characteristics may need to adjust as well. An example would be if insects or animals are eating a plant over many years, it may develop thorns or spikes to keep it from being eaten. This change in structure and traits give the plant a survival advantage.