Natural Selection Concepts

Front

What is a specific characteristic of an individual organism?

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Trait

Front

What is a trait that makes it more likely that an individual will survive in a specific environment?

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Adaptive Trait

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NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Front

What do we call any difference in traits between individual organisms?

Back

Variation

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NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Front

What are mutations?

Back

Changes to genes that can lead to changes to protein molecules which can result in changes to traits.

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NGSS.MS-LS3-1

Front

How do environmental changes affect populations over generations?

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With each generation, individuals with traits better suited to the new environment are more likely to survive and pass on those traits.

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NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Front

What is natural selection?

Back

The process by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.

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NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Front

What is adaptation?

Back

A trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce in its environment.

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NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Front

What is the difference between adaptive and non-adaptive traits?

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Adaptive traits increase an organism's chances of survival, while non-adaptive traits do not.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Front

What role do variations play in natural selection?

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Variations provide the raw material for natural selection, allowing some individuals to survive better than others.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Front

How can environmental changes lead to evolution?

Back

When the environment changes, traits that were once beneficial may become harmful, leading to changes in the population over time.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4