Living Environment Mutations

How common are mutations for fur color among the rock pocket mice?

• Rare. But the population of mice is so large that they appear in every generation.

• Very rare. They only appear about once every 100 years.

• Very common. Most mice are born with strange fur colors.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS3-1

When would a mutation for black fur be NON-ADAPTIVE?

• If the mouse is born into the golden desert environment

• If the mouse is born into the black lava environment

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS3-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Did dark mice from different lava flows always have the same genetic mutation?

• Yes - there's only one kind of mutation that can result in dark fur.

• No - different mutations appeared randomly, and the ones that resulted in dark fur became more common. 

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS3-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

What has caused the fur color traits of the rock pocket mice to change over time?

• Individual mice changed their traits in order to survive. 

• Mice with light fur color moved to golden desert and mice with dark fur color moved to black lava rock.

• Mice with that fur that matched their environment were more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass on their genes to the next generation. 

• In order to survive, the mice passed on genes that allowed their offspring to blend into their environment.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Every mouse living on the black lava rock today has the black fur gene because...

• The original black mouse survived longer and reproduced more, causing the trait to become more common over time. 

• Parent mice gave helpful genes to their offspring. 

• Brown and golden mice that lived on the black lava changed their genes to survive. 

• Black mice moved to the black lava where they could blend in.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

While __________ is random, __________ is not.

• mutation; natural selection

• natural selection; mutation

• natural selection, variation

• variation, mutation

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS3-1

Which best describes the role of mutations in natural selection?

• Mutations help an organism to better survive in their environment

• An organism may acquire a helpful mutation by interacting with the environment

• A mutation may result in a beneficial trait that makes an organism more likely to survive and reproduce

• Organisms with certain traits are more likely to win competitions for mutations

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Mutations are a change in what?

• DNA

• tRNA

• protein

• rRNA

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS3-1

Where do adaptations come from?

• The individual organism decides to adapt

• Mutations that give an organism an advantage in its environment

• Genetic recombination during meiosis

• Both mutations and genetic recombination are sources of adaptation

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Mutations are important because they bring about

• death of the organism in which they develop

• genetic variation needed for a population to evolve

• benefits for the individual, not for the population

• changes in genotype, but not phenotype

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS3-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-4