Principles of Natural Selection
Survival of the fittest.
What is natural selection?
True or False: Evolution does not result in the development of new species.
False
Name one Australian organism studied in the Evolution booklet.
1. Cane Toads
2. Red-bellied Snakes
3. Northern Quolls
True or False: All mutations are harmful
False
It has many keys but can't open a single lock.
What is a piano?
Natural selection produces a what?
An English naturalist and biologist, who contributed to the creation of the evolution theory
Who is Charles Darwin?
What year has the cane toads been introduced into Australia?
1935
Variations that exist within a species in a particular area.
What is diversity?
Which word in the dictionary is always spelt incorrectly?
Incorrectly.
What organisms does natural selection favour within an environment?
The organism with the most favourable trait.
An inherited characteristic that increases an organisms fitness + survival in a specific environment.
What is adaptation?
What features has the cane toads evolved?
Longer legs + greater physical endurance
What mutations can produce in both sexual and asexual reproducing organisms?
New alleles.
What can be touched but can't be seen?
Someone's heart.
The amount of offspring an organism may have.
What is fitness?
13
Why were the cane toads introduced into Australia?
To control the Greyback Cane Beetles in sugar cane plantations.
Why is genetic diversity significant?
Plays a role in safeguarding a species from extinction when the environment changes.
What is seen in the middle of March and April that can't be seen in the beginning or end of either month?
The letter R.
The Principles of Natural Selection. (hint: there are four principles)
What is: Variations of Phenotypes, Heritable, Struggle for Existence, Survival and Reproduction Rates (Team can gain 100 points if they name at least one)
What was a key observation made by Darwin on the Galápagos Islands that influenced his development of the theory of evolution by natural selection?
Finches on different islands had different beak shapes + sizes.
Why does smaller heads benefit red-bellied snakes in terms of their feeding habits on the cane toads?
The smaller the head of the snake, the less cane toads the snake is able to fit in its mouth and consume. Which lowers the concentration of toxins and the chances of poisoning the snake.
What is the difference between asexual reproduction and sexual reproduction in genetic variation?
In asexual reproductions, the DNA is copied exactly from one generation to the next, unless a mutation occurs. While, sexual reproductions have additional sources of genetic variations including, meiosis and variations from parents when the gamete is combined.
In a bus, there is a 26-year-old pregnant lady, a 30-year-old policeman, a 52-year-old random woman, and the driver who is 65 years old. Who is the youngest?