Dichotomous Keys/ Natural Selection, Selective Breeding

A student uses this diagram to understand the parts of a fish. The student then uses an identification key to classify different types of fish.

Based on the key, which of these fish is most likely a bluegill?

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Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

A student examines the winged insect using the picture.

Based on the key, in what order should this insect be classified?

• Mantodea

• Raphidioptera

• Coleoptera

• Lepidoptera

Students collected leaf samples. The students used the leaf identification key below to identify a leaf sample.

Based on the identification key, which type of tree is this sample from?

• Ginkgo

• Honey locust

• Horse Chestnut

• Black Maple

Which of the following characteristics will most likely be helpful in identifying a butterfly using a dichotomous key?

• Migrates north every spring.

• Hangs on branches to rest.

• Flutters wings faster on hot days.

• Hind wings have tail extensions.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

A student discovers an arachnid with a segmented abdomen, long legs, and a tail with no stinger. The student uses the dichotomous key to identify it. Which arachnid has the student found?

• A. Daddy Long Legs

• B. Scorpion

• C. Wind scorpion

• D. Whip scorpion

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

A labeled diagram of a fiddler crab is provided. Which of the following is an accurate observation of the structures of a fiddler crab? Fiddler crabs have -

• five pairs of walking legs on each side.

• an enlarged propodus on both front legs.

• a pair of eyes on stalks at the top of the body.

• two pairs or chelipeds for a total of four.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

A dichotomous key for insects is given. To what order does an insect with two pairs of scaly wings belong?

• Coleoptera

• Diptera

• Heteroptera

• Lepidoptera

Wheat was one of the first plant crops that a human domesticated. In the process of domestication, the wild form of wheat was eventually changed into a form more suited to human agricultural practice.

Early farmers most likely used seeds only from wheat plants with -

• larger grains that could produce more food per plant

• taller stems that could block sunlight from weeds growing at ground level

• larger flowers that could be sold for additional income

• thinner stems that could endure heavy winds

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

A few years ago the population of male blue bloom butterflies on the island of Samoa declined. One hypothesis for the decline of the male butterflies is that a parasite infected the cells of the female butterflies. The parasite was passed to offspring through the females' eggs and killed the male butterfly embryos. At one point doing the decline, nearly all the butterflies in the population were females, but after 5 years the number of males in the population increased significantly.

Which explanation most likely accounts for the increase in the number of male butterflies in the five years after the initial parasite problem?

• A. Male butterflies in the population that survived were able to prey on the parasites living in the females' egg cells

• B. Female butterflies in the population that survived had a genetic adaptation that allowed them to transform in to male butterflies.

• C. Male butterflies in the population had a gene that made them resistant to the parasite, and they passed the gene on to their offspring.

• D. Female butterflies in the population that survived were able to protect the male eggs from the parasite and provide extra care for the male offspring.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Lake Victoria in East Africa is home to many species of fish called cichlids. In 1954 the predatory Nile perch was introduced to Lake Victoria. The Nile perch became the dominant fish species in the lake by the mid-1980s. The number of cichlid species in the lake decreased as the Nile perch population increased. The perch preyed heavily on cichlid species that fed on algae and debris on the bottom of the lake. Algae in the lake increased, and oxygen levels decreased. The surface area of the gills of some cichlid species has increased in just over 20 years.

• A. Increased gill surface area has allowed the cichlids to change their diet and avoid competing with the Nile perch.

• B. Increased gill surface area has allowed the cichlids to better absorb the limited oxygen in the water.

• C. Increased gill surface area has allowed the cichlids to be camouflaged and avoid being eaten by the Nile perch.

• D. Increased gill surface area has allowed the cichlids to leave Lake Victoria and establish populations in nearby bodies of water.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-1