Adaptations and Speciation

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes the role of natural selection in the diversity of species?

• It causes all species to become identical over time.

• It allows only the largest animals to survive.

• It leads to the development of traits that help organisms survive and reproduce.

• It prevents any changes in animal characteristics.

Open Ended

Turn and Talk:

Give an example of an animal adaptation that would help them survive in their environment

Multiple Choice

What is an adaptation?

• A body structure or behavior that helps an organism survive in its environment

• A type of animal

• A type of plant

• A type of weather

Multiple Choice

Why do adaptations occur in animals?

• To help animals survive and reproduce successfully

• To make animals look different

• To help animals sleep better

• To make animals run faster

How do adaptations and natural selection lead to diversity amongst species?

Organisms that are more adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and pass on the genes that aided their success.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is an example of a structural adaptation?

• Giraffes have long necks to reach their food

• Possums play dead to avoid predators

• Birds migrate to warmer places

• Bears hibernate during winter

Open Ended

Think - Pair - Share:

How do physical and behavioral traits help animals survive?

Open Ended

Think back to the Natural Selection lesson. What is a selective pressure?

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes selective pressures?

• Factors that help organisms survive without change

• Anything that makes it harder for organisms to survive and causes them to adapt

• Only diseases that affect organisms

• Resources that are always available

Multiple Choice

Which of the following are examples of selective pressures?

• Predators

• Nutrient supply

• Disease

• All of the above

Multiple Choice

Which of the following best describes speciation?

• The process where one species splits into two or more distinct species

• The adaptation of organisms to their environment

• The extinction of a species

• The migration of species to new areas