Evolution by natural selection
The performance expectations in Topic 5: Evolution by Natural Selection help students answer these questions:
Why do different organisms have many similarities?
What causes species to change over time?
Students investigate patterns to find relationships between environmental conditions and natural selection, highlighting factors that drive the evolution or extinction of species over time. Students utilize statistics and probability to investigate the distribution of genes and traits in a population over time, demonstrating how natural selection leads to the adaptation of populations. Students analyze scientific evidence, ranging from the fossil record to genetic relationships, to evaluate how multiple lines of evidence support the scientific theories of natural selection and evolution.
Students who demonstrate understanding can:
LS4-1: Communicate scientific information that common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence
LS4-2: Construct an explanation based on evidence that the process of evolution primarily results from four factors: (1) the potential for a species to increase in number, (2) the heritable genetic variation of individuals in a species due to mutation and sexual reproduction, (3) competition for limited resources, and (4) the proliferation of those organisms that are better able to survive and reproduce in the environment
LS4-3: Apply concepts of statistics and probability to support explanations that organisms with an advantageous heritable trait tend to increase in proportion to organisms lacking this trait
LS4-4: Construct an explanation based on evidence for how natural selection leads to adaptation of populations
LS4-5: Evaluate the evidence supporting claims that changes in environmental conditions may result in: (1) increases in the number of individuals of some species, (2) the emergence of new species over time, and (3) the extinction of other species
ESS2-7: Construct an argument based on evidence about the simultaneous coevolution of Earth’s systems and life on Earth