Grade Level(s):
- 9-12
Source:
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Resource type:
- Classroom activity
Time: 50 minutes
Overview
Students watch a short film and complete a worksheet and graphing exercise that reinforces the concepts of variation and natural selection.
- [Mechanisms of evolution: Grades 9-12] Evolution results from selection acting upon genetic variation within a population. (LS4.B)
- [Mechanisms of evolution: Grades 9-12] There is variation within a population. (LS3.B)
- [Mechanisms of evolution: Grades 9-12] Natural selection acts on the variation that exists in a population. (LS4.B, LS4.C)
- [Mechanisms of evolution: Grades 9-12] Mutations are random.
- [Mechanisms of evolution: Grades 9-12] Inherited characteristics affect the likelihood of an organism's survival and reproduction. (LS4.B, LS4.C)
- [Mechanisms of evolution: Grades 9-12] Natural selection is dependent on environmental conditions.
- [Mechanisms of evolution: Grades 9-12] Over time, the proportion of individuals with advantageous characteristics may increase due to their likelihood of surviving and reproducing. (LS4.B, LS4.C)
- [Mechanisms of evolution: Grades 9-12] Depending on environmental conditions, inherited characteristics may be advantageous, neutral, or detrimental.
- [Mechanisms of evolution: Grades 9-12] Environmental changes may provide opportunities that can influence natural selection. (LS4.B, LS4.C)
- Disciplinary Core Idea LS3.B: Variation of Traits
- Disciplinary Core Idea LS4.B: Natural Selection
- Disciplinary Core Idea LS4.C: Adaptation
Answers to the worksheets are readily available online, so if this is a concern, you may wish to have students complete those in class.