TOPIC 15 DAY 2 NATURAL SELECTION

The peppered moth is a classic example of natural selection in the environment. The peppered moth has three color patterns: light, medium, and dark. Prior to the industrial revolution, the light moth, which could better blend with the tree bark, was the most prevalent. After industrialization, the darker moth population quickly increased since the tree bark became darker. Which of the following BEST describes why the change in population occurred so quickly?

• Mutations took place in DNA.

• Different species of moths interbred.

• Industrialization took place in a short period of time.

• Color variations were already present in living moths.

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A large population of cockroaches was sprayed with an insecticide. A few of the cockroaches survived and produced a population of cockroaches that was resistant to this spray. What can best be inferred from this example?

• A species will adapt no matter what the environment.

• The environment has no effect on the survival of an organism.

• Insecticides cause mutations that are passed on to the next generation.

• Individuals with favorable variations survive and reproduce.

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As the best-adapted members of a species produce offspring and pass on their favorable characteristics to succeeding generations, what happens to the population of the species as a whole?

• The best-adapted members will soon become another species.

• The best-adapted members will overpopulate the environment, leading to extinctions.

• The entire population will gradually become more similar to the best-adapted members.

• The entire population will stop evolving once the favorable characteristic is present in all members.

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When penicillin was first introduced, it was very effective in destroying most of the bacteria that cause gonorrhea. Today, certain varieties of this bacterium are resistant to penicillin.

Which statement best explains the appearance of these resistant varieties?

• Penicillin stimulated the bacteria to become resistant, and this resistance was passed to the offspring.

• Penicillin killed the susceptible bacteria, while naturally resistant varieties survived and reproduced.

• Penicillin used today is not as strong as the penicillin used when it was first introduced.

• Penicillin stimulated the production of antigens in the resistant bacteria.

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The use of pesticides on crops has been a common farming practice for decades. What has been the greatest effect of natural selection through the use of pesticides on certain insect populations?

• Natural selection has been altered because the insects and their predators are killed.

• The rate of selection is increased because the pesticides do not kill the insects that are naturally resistant to it.

• The rate of selection has decreased because the pesticides kill only young insects.

• The pesticides have altered natural selection by causing the insect DNA to spontaneously mutate.

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A female lobster carries hundreds of fertilized eggs attached to the underside of her abdomen. After they hatch into larvae, almost all of them are eaten by predators before they are full-grown.

Why is the large number of offspring an evolutionary advantage even though most get eaten?

• The hatched lobster larvae are an important part of the ocean food web.

• The large number of offspring provides the raw material for natural selection.

• The large number of offspring ensures that at least some will survive and reproduce.

• The more that are eaten by predators, the more food there is for the surviving ones.

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