Question

The tundra is cold year-round. It has short cool summers and long, severe winters. The tundra has a permanently frozen sublayer of soil called permafrost. Like the desert, the tundra receives little precipitation, about 4 to 10 inches per year, and what does fall is usually in the form of snow or ice. It has long days during the growing season, sometimes with 24 hours of daylight, and long nights during the winter. Which adaptations would you expect to see in plants growing in the tundra?

Leaves with hair help shade the plant, reducing water loss.

Small and grow in clumps for protection from the wind and cold

Deep roots to help capture nutrients from deep below the surface

Tall plants with broad, thin, waxy leaves so water easily runs off

Answer 1

Correct answers:
- Leaves with hair help shade the plant, reducing water loss.
- Small and grow in clumps for protection from the wind and cold.

Why: permafrost makes soil shallow so roots are generally shallow (not deep), and the environment favors low, cushion‑shaped growth and hairy/waxy coverings to reduce heat loss and water loss. Tall, broad, thin leaves are disadvantageous in the tundra (they lose heat and water and are damaged by wind).