natural selection worksheet

Why is the mouse population changing over time?

• The light mice can reproduce more successfully than the dark mice

• The hawks eat more dark mice than light mice because the dark mice taste better

• The hawks eat more light mice than dark mice because they can see the light mice more easily

• The hawks eat more dark mice than light mice because they can see the dark mice more easily

Something that helps an organism survive in its environment is an . . .

• Adaptation

• Tool

• Evolution

• Sour Patch Kid

Which of the following describes what is meant by Natural Selection?

• An organism will survive no matter what its adaptations may be

• An organism with adaptations that do not allow it to reproduce as effectively as others will survive.

• An organism with adaptations that allow it to obtain resources and reproduce more effectively than others will survive.

• No organisms will survive.

What does the term variation mean?

• The same traits in a population.
• The different ways that traits are expressed in a population.
• The same ways traits are expressed in a population.
• The place where an animal lives.

What was the variation in the Peppered Moth that affected their survival?

• Size

• Aggressiveness

• Color

• Species

Before the industrial revolution the birds were eating more black moths. After the industrial revolution the birds started eating more white moths. Why

• The birds thought the white moths tasted better.

• There were not any black moths to eat

• The white moths stood out on the dark trees so the birds could see them easier.

Tree squirrels can have different fur colors.

Squirrels live in forests where foxes also live. Foxes hunt squirrels for food. Squirrels that have fur that is the same color as the trees are harder for the foxes to see and catch.

The diagram below shows a population of squirrels that live in a forest. At time 1, the population had the same number of black and gray squirrels. At time 2, after many generations, there were many more black squirrels and fewer gray squirrels in the population.

How did the environment change between time 1 and time 2? How did the population change?

• You cannot tell how the environment changed. With each generation, more squirrels passed on the gene for black fur to their offspring.

• There were more black trees. Squirrels with black fur are more likely to survive, so the squirrels with gray fur changed to have black fur.

• There were more black trees. Squirrels with black fur are more likely to survive, so both types of squirrels passed on the gene for black fur to their offspring.

• There were more black trees. With each generation, more squirrels with black fur survived long enough to pass on the gene for black fur to their offspring.

According to natural selection, light colored tree trunks would favor

• light colored moths

• dark colored moths

• red colored moths

• red and light colored moths

Match the requirement to the example.

• Adaptation

• Pelicans with deep beaks can meet their need for food.

  Pelicans with thin beaks starve to death.

• Variation

• In the future, more pelicans have deep beaks than thin beaks.

• Selection

• Parents with deep beaks have offspring with deep beaks.

• Inheritance

• Pelicans can be born with thin beaks or deep beaks.