Amplify Natural Selection Review

Blue jays are birds that live in the forest. They can have beaks of different thicknesses. Blue jays use their beaks to get to the seeds they eat. Blue jays with thinner beaks can easily reach and eat the seeds inside pinecones. Blue jays with thicker beaks can easily open and eat seeds with hard shells. If their environment changes to have only seeds in pinecones, which of the following blue jay populations will most likely survive?

• Populations 1 and 2 will most likely survive.

• Populations 2 and 3 will most likely survive.

• Only Population 2 will survive because it is the only population with variation.

• All the populations will survive because the blue jays will change the thickness of their beaks if they need to.

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Northern foxes can have different fur colors. The foxes hunt squirrels for food. Foxes that have fur the same color as their environment are better at getting closer to squirrels and catching them. The diagram below shows a population of foxes that live in one area. At time 1, the population had the same number of brown and white foxes. At time 2, after many generations, there were many more brown foxes and fewer white foxes 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 foxes passed on the gene for brown fur to their offspring.

• The environment became brown. Brown foxes are more likely to survive, so the white foxes changed to have brown fur.

• The environment became brown. Brown foxes are more likely to survive, so both kinds of foxes passed on the gene for brown fur to their offspring.

• The environment became brown. With each generation, more brown foxes survived long enough to pass on the gene for brown fur to their offspring.

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Guppies are small fish that live in South American rivers. They can have different-sized spots on their bodies. The river bottoms are covered in rocks. Guppies with spots that are the same size as the rocks on the bottom are harder for bigger fish to see and catch. The diagrams below show three possible guppy populations. If their environment changes to have only large rocks, which of the following guppy populations will most likely survive?

• Only Population 2 will survive because it is the only population with variation.

• All the populations will survive because the guppies will change the size of their spots if they need to.

• Populations 1 and 2 will most likely survive.

• Populations 2 and 3 will most likely survive.

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NGSS.MS-LS4-4

There is a kind of snake that can be born with red or yellow skin. Eagles hunt these snakes, but snakes that are the same color as their environment are harder for the eagles to see and catch. The diagram below shows a population of snakes that live in an environment where there was yellow sand and red dirt. At time 1, the population had the same number of yellow and red snakes. At time 2, after many generations, there were many more red snakes and fewer yellow snakes 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 snakes passed on the gene for red skin to their offspring.

• There was more red dirt in the environment. With each generation, more red snakes survived long enough to pass on the gene for red skin to their offspring.

• There was more red dirt in the environment. Red snakes are more likely to survive, so the yellow snakes changed to have red skin.

• There was more red dirt in the environment. Red snakes are more likely to survive, so both kinds of snakes passed on the gene for red skin to their offspring.

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Barrel cactuses live in the Mexican desert. They are covered in sharp spines. Cactuses can have spines of different lengths. Their sharp spines help protect them from being eaten by bighorn sheep. Cactuses with longer spines are less likely to be eaten by the sheep. If their environment changes to have many bighorn sheep, which of the following cactus populations will most likely survive?

• Populations 1 and 2 will most likely survive.

• Populations 2 and 3 will most likely survive.

• Only Population 2 will survive because it is the only population with variation.

• All the populations will survive because the cactuses will change the length of their spines if they need to.

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NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Brown anoles are lizards that live on islands in the Bahamas. They can have legs of different lengths. Lizards with shorter legs are better at climbing trees than lizards with longer legs. This makes lizards with shorter legs better at escaping from the floods that sometimes cover the islands. The diagram below shows a population of lizards that live on an island. At time 1, the population had the same number of lizards with short legs and lizards with long legs. At time 2, after many generations, many more lizards had short legs and fewer lizards had long legs. 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 lizards passed on the gene for short legs to their offspring.

• There were more floods. Lizards with short legs are more likely to survive, so the lizards with long legs changed to have short legs.

• There were more floods. Lizards with short legs are more likely to survive, so both kinds of lizards passed on the gene for short legs to their offspring.

• There were more floods. With each generation, more lizards with short legs survived long enough to pass on the gene for short legs to their offspring.

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Eider ducks live in the ocean and have a layer of warm feathers underneath their regular feathers. They can have feathers of different thicknesses. These feathers help the ducks stay warm in cold water. Ducks with thicker feathers are more likely to stay warm and survive in cold water. But, in warm water, thicker feathers can make the ducks overheat and die. If their environment changes to have very cold water, which of the following duck populations will most likely survive?

• Populations 1 and 2 will most likely survive.

• Populations 2 and 3 will most likely survive.

• Only Population 2 will survive because it is the only population with variation.

• All the populations will survive because the ducks will change their feather thickness if they need to.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Blue jays are birds that live in the forest. They can have beaks of different thicknesses. Blue jays use their beaks to get to the seeds they eat. Blue jays with thinner beaks can easily reach and eat the seeds inside pinecones. Blue jays with thicker beaks can easily open and eat seeds with hard shells. How did the environment change between time 1 and time 2? How did the population change?

• There were more trees that had pinecones with seeds. With each generation, more blue jays with thin beaks survived long enough to pass on the gene for thin beaks to their offspring.

• There were more trees that had pinecones with seeds. Blue jays with thin beaks are more likely to survive, so the blue jays with thick beaks changed to have thin beaks.

• There were more trees that had pinecones with seeds. Blue jays with thin beaks are more likely to survive, so both kinds of blue jays passed on the gene for thin beaks to their offspring.

• You cannot tell how the environment changed. With each generation, more blue jays passed on the gene for thin beaks to their offspring.

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The finches with beaks that are relatively thick and large can eat all sizes of seed and nuts. Finches with beaks that are smaller and thinner can only eat small seeds. A severe drought caused changes shown in the graphs. Choose the best description of what is happening to the populations of finches.

• The population of large-beaked finches is less affected by the lack of nuts.

• The population of small-beaked finches is less affected by the lack of seeds.

• The population of large-beaked finches is greatly affected by the lack of seeds.

• The population of both large- and small-beaked finches is greatly affected by the lack of seeds.

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The finches with beaks that are relatively thick and large can eat all sizes of seed and nuts. Finches with beaks that are smaller and thinner can only eat small seeds. A severe drought caused changes shown in the graphs. Choose the best explanation that supports why there is a change in the finch population.

• The large-beaked finches can eat only nuts, so they cannot survive and reproduce.

• The small-beaked finches can eat only nuts, so they cannot survive and reproduce.

• The small-beaked finches can eat seeds and nuts, so they can survive and reproduce.

• The large-beaked finches can eat both seeds and nuts, so they are less affected by the decline in food availability.

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