Darwin/Natural Selection

Which of the following is a situation that could cause evolutionary change that is NOT due to natural selection?

• A volcano erupts and kills many individuals in a population.

• A mutation produces sea stars that are less visible to predators.

• An insecticide is sprayed in a community to combat mosquitoes.

• Cattle are treated with antibiotics to prevent the spread of infections.

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NGSS.MS-LS2-4

The graphs below show the changes in crab color at one beach.

Which of the following is most likely to have caused the change in the distribution?

• A new predator arrived that preferred dark-tan crabs.

• A new predator arrived that preferred light-tan crabs.

• A change in beach color made medium-tan crabs the least visible to predators.

• A change in beach color made medium-tan crabs the most visible to predators.

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Which of the following best illustrates natural selection?

• An organism with favorable genetic variations will tend to survive and breed successfully.

• A population monopolizes all of the resources in its habitat, forcing other species to migrate.

• A community whose members work together utilizing all existing resources and migratory routes.

• The largest organisms in a species receive the only breeding opportunities.

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NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Which of the following is NOT part of the that mechanisms of natural selection?

• Organisms produce more offspring than can survive.

• Disease and natural disaster will limit population growth.

• Species today descended with modifications from ancestral species.

• Organisms with advantages will survive and reproduce.

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NGSS.MS-LS1-4

What is the most likely explanation of the data shown below?

• There has been a drought in the area that is affecting all life forms.

• The population of natural predators of the moths has gotten smaller.

• The moths are living in an environment with light trees.

• The moths are living in an environment with dark trees.

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Which of the following statements best describes what will most likely occur to the moth populations in the image above?

• The light moths will be captured by predators more easily than the dark moths, and the population of dark moths will rise.

• The light moths will be captured by predators more easily than the dark moths, and the population of light moths will rise.

• The dark moths will be captured by predators more easily than the light moths, and the dark moths will probably go extinct.

• The light moths will change their wing color to match that of the dark moths.

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According to Darwin’s theory of natural selection, the individuals that tend to survive are those that have

• characteristics their parents acquired by use and disuse.
• the greatest number of offspring.
• characteristics that plant and animal breeders value.
• variations best suited to the environment.

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NGSS.MS-LS4-4

When did Charles Darwin live? 

• 1600s
• 1700s
• 1800s
• 1900s

Darwin developed his theory of natural selection by the studying the unique life on this chain of islands in the Pacific Ocean near South America.

• the Andouilles

• the Hawaiian Islands

• the Galapagos Islands

• the Aleutian Islands

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NGSS.MS-LS4-4

The finches of the Galapagos islands different in what way and for what reason?

• size of body, size of trees

• location on specific islands, amount of water

• coloration. types of predators

• beak shape, type of food available

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NGSS.MS-LS4-2

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