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Testing a hypothesis

Grade Level(s):

  • 9-12

Source:

  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Resource type:

  • Classroom activity

Time: 50 minutes

Overview

Students watch a short film about natural selection in humans and answer questions on a worksheet that reinforce the evolutionary story behind malaria and sickle cell anemia prevalence.

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malaria hypothesis
  • [Evidence of evolution: Grades 9-12] There is a fit between organisms and their environments, though not always a perfect fit. (LS4.C)
  • [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] 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.
  • [Nature of science: Grades 9-12] A hallmark of science is exposing ideas to testing. (P3, P4, P6, P7)
  • [Nature of science: Grades 9-12] Scientists test their ideas using multiple lines of evidence. (P6, NOS2)
  • [Nature of science: Grades 9-12] Scientists can test ideas about events and processes long past, very distant, and not directly observable.
  • [Nature of science: Grades 9-12] Science is a human endeavor. (NOS7)
  • [Studying evolution: Grades 9-12] As with other scientific disciplines, evolutionary biology has applications that factor into everyday life.
  • Disciplinary Core Idea LS4.B: Natural Selection
  • Disciplinary Core Idea LS4.C: Adaptation
  • NOS Matrix understanding category 2. Scientific knowledge is based on empirical evidence.
  • NOS Matrix understanding category 7. Science is a human endeavor.
  • Science and Engineering Practice 3. Planning and carrying out investigations
  • Science and Engineering Practice 4. Analyzing and interpreting data
  • Science and Engineering Practice 6. Constructing explanations and designing solutions
  • Science and Engineering Practice 7. Engaging in argument from evidence

Answers to the worksheets are readily available online, so if this is a concern, you may wish to have students complete those in class.