Natural Selection
Natural selection is known as "survival of the fittest."
Adaptations lead to natural selection. Natural selection leads to evolution.
Observe the beetle example here.
Part 1: Walking Sticks
From the Foss website, click "Class/Student Login" and enter this information.
Login: smssci
Password: School#1
Click "Sign In," then click "Populations and Ecosystems"
Under "Multimedia," scroll down and click on "Walkingsticks: Find Insects in Three Environments"
Do 5 generations for each of the 3 environments and record the data below.
Run the simulation following the guidelines on the Walking Sticks assignment, and fill in the sheet as you go.
Tips: Refresh your browser between trials to reset the simulation to default settings.
Part 2: Natural and Unnatural Selection
Read pp.58-61 of the Populations and Ecosystems book.
Answer the questions on the Natural and Unnatural Selection assignment sheet.
Part 3: Larkeys
From the Foss website, click "Class/Student Login" and enter this information.
Login: smssci
Password: School#1
Click "Sign In," then click "Populations and Ecosystems" (click the "View Module Details" button)
Under "Multimedia," scroll down and click on "Larkey Natural Selection"
Read the "Survival Rules" carefully.
In the simulation, you need to hit the "let 'em breed" button over and over.
Run the simulation following the guidelines on the Larkeys assignment, and fill in the sheet as you go.
Then, go back to "Multimedia" and click "Larkey Selective Breeding."
Have the computer pick a random target phenotype by clicking the "EASIER" button (note: phenotype means what an organism looks like).
After doing the activity, check your results by clicking on the individual Larkeys in the F4 generation.
Complete the questions on the Larkeys assignment.
Tips: Refresh your browser between trials to reset the simulation to default settings.
Part 4: Bird Beak Buffet
Watch at least the first 2:30 of the bird beak adaptations movie.
Play the Bird Beak Buffet game.
Make a multiple line graph with time on the x axis and population on the y axis. Each beak type is a separate line.
Debrief Questions:
Which normal beak (chopstick or spoon) competed most successfully (use data to support your answer)?
Explain which mutation (clothespin or string) competed most successfully (use data to support your answer).
Considering all beak types, if you came back in 10,000 years (and the climate stayed the same), which type of beak would be most common and why?
What was the most difficult thing to do in this challenge?
How did things change for the birds when the environment/climate changed?
How does this connect to real birds (or other species)?
What does "survival of the fittest" mean in this game?
Part 5: Giraffe Necks
How did giraffe necks get so long?
There are two views of how this came to be.
View #1
View #2
Please answer the following two items in your journal.
Which view (#1 or #2) is supported by evidence?
Explain the evidence that supports this view.
Then watch the Sources of Variation movie.
Part 6: Natural Selection Challenge - Waterhole
Those who are not fit for their environment do not survive.
The goal: The full class of students gets to the waterhole, captures the prey, and gets back to the start without anyone breaking a rule.
Rules:
When the keeper of the waterhole is looking at the group, everyone freezes - anyone not frozen, the whole group goes back to the starting line.
One member of the group must pick up the prey item, and only one person may hold the prey item (not under clothes) at any given time.
Once prey has been captured, each time the keeper of the waterhole looks at the group, the keeper picks the one person (s)he thinks has the prey item.
If the person chosen by the keeper indeed has the prey item, the prey item comes back to the waterhole and the group goes back to the starting line.
Every person must have at least one turn holding the prey item before the group gets back to the starting line.
Debrief Questions:
How did it feel to succeed, if the group met the goal?
How did it feel to have to go back to the start?
What strategies were used in the challenge?
What adaptations led to failure in the challenge?
What adaptations led to success?
What does "survival of the fittest" mean in this game?
Natural Selection Extension 1: Guppy Variation Assignment
Watch the Venezuelan Guppy Color Variation PowerPoint and complete the Guppy Color Variation assignment.
Natural Selection Extension 2: Bill Nye Saves the World
On Netflix, watch Bill Nye Saves the World Season 2, Episode 5, "Extinction: Why All Our Friends Are Dying" and Season 1, Episode 13, "Earth's People Problem."
Then write one paragraph summarizing each episode and a third paragraph in which you make a case for how natural selection is (or is not) playing out with humans on Earth.
