Adaptations, Natural Selection and Selective Breeding

Mountain lions are large cats and the top predator in their habitat. A population of mountain lions may vary in several characteristics. If a prey becomes scarce, competition between mountain lions for food will increase. Which variation would provide an advantage to the individuals that possessed it?

• a spotted coat

• short fur

• long legs

• abundant whiskers

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

A farmer wants to increase the amount of food produced by corn crops. If the farmer selectively breeds the plants, for which trait should the farmer select?

• taller stems

• deeper roots

• resistance to pesticides

• more cobs on plant

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

The breeding of organisms for desired characteristics.

• natural selection

• variations

• selective breeding

• ancestor

Characteristics of an organism that enable it to survive.

• variation

• adaptation

• artificial selection

• natural selection

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Explains how populations change as their environment changes.

• ancestor

• selective breeding

• artificial selection

• natural selection

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

An adaptation that involves the way an organism behaves.

• structural adaptation

• functional adaptation

• natural selection

• behavioral adaptation

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-4

An adaptation that involves color, shape, and other physical characteristics.

• structural adaptation

• functional adaptation

• behavioral adaptation

• natural selection

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Island chain where Darwin observed many varieties of species.

• Hawaiian

• South American

• Galapagos

• Philipines

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

A beneficial __________ in neck length spreads throughout a tortoise population through natural selection.

• offspring

• species

• ancestor

• variation

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

The process by which populations of organisms with variations that help them survive in their environments live longer, compete better, and reproduce more than those that do not have the variation.

• Evolution

• natural selection

• adaptation

• extinction

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4