Natural Selection and Earth, Moon, and Sun

Natural Selection

100

What is natural selection?

• Answer: The process by which organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.

200

How do mutations influence natural selection?

• Answer: Mutations can introduce new traits into a population, which may be beneficial, harmful, or neutral, affecting survival and reproduction.

300

What is an adaptive trait?

• Answer: A trait that increases an organism's chance of survival and reproduction in a specific environment.

400

Describe how the newt population became more poisonous.

• Answer: The newts with higher poison levels survived longer due to predation; thus, they reproduced more, passing on the trait.

500

What role do environmental changes play in natural selection?

• Answer: Environmental changes can create new selective pressures, affecting which traits are advantageous and leading to changes in population traits over generations.

Earth, Moon, and Sun

100

What causes the phases of the Moon?

The changing positions of the Moon, Earth, and Sun relative to each other.

200

Explain what a lunar eclipse is.

• Answer: A lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth is directly between the Sun and the Moon, blocking sunlight from reaching the Moon.

300

Why does the Moon have a border between light and dark?

• Answer: The Moon does not produce its own light; it reflects sunlight, and the side facing the Sun is illuminated while the other side remains dark.

400

How long does it take for the Moon to orbit the Earth?

• Answer: Approximately one month.

500

Describe the process that leads to a lunar eclipse.

• Answer: A lunar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth, and Moon align in a straight line, with the Earth blocking sunlight from reaching the Moon.

NS Vocab

100

What is the process by which the distribution of traits in a population changes over time?
A. Mutation
B. Natural selection
C. Inheritance
D. Variation

B. Natural selection

200

What happened to beetle populations when their habitat lost dark-colored trees?
A. The dark beetles survived better
B. The light beetles survived better
C. The beetles' color stopped mattering
D. The beetles all died

B. The light beetles survived better

300

Which of the following is an example of an adaptive trait?
A. A bird with bright colors in a predator-filled environment
B. A fish that can blend into its surroundings
C. A rabbit that cannot run fast
D. A plant that does not produce seeds

B. A fish that can blend into its surroundings

400

A type of moose has become smaller over time, while the population increased. What is the most likely reason?
A. A disease affecting skull size
B. A recessive gene for smaller size
C. Less food availability
D. A genetic mutation that changed skull size

C. Less food availability

500

What influences an organism’s traits?
A. Mutations
B. The specific genes they inherited
C. The environment they live in
D. All of the above  

D. All of the above

EMS Vocab

100

Which moon phase looks like a full circle from Earth?

A. Crescent moon
B. Gibbous moon
C. Quarter moon
D. Full moon  

D. Full moon  

200

What does the side of Earth facing the Sun experience?
A. Nighttime
B. Winter
C. Daytime
D. A solar eclipse

C. Daytime

300

What is the term for the nearly circular path a smaller object travels around a larger object?
A. Scale
B. Orbit
C. Rotation
D. Eclipse

B. Orbit

400

Why are there more daylight hours in the summer than in the winter?
A. The Sun and Earth increase in size
B. The Sun and Earth are closer together
C. The Earth is tilted on its axis while revolving around the Sun
D. The Earth speeds up its orbit in summer

C. The Earth is tilted on its axis while revolving around the Sun

500

When is the Moon completely dark from Earth’s perspective?
A. Only during a lunar eclipse
B. Always during a new moon
C. Always during a full moon
D. Never, the Moon is always visible

B. Always during a new moon

PSSA

100

Which measurements are required to calculate the average speed of a car driving on a road?

A. time and distance 

B. time and direction 

C. mass and distance 

D. mass and direction  

A. Time and distance are required to calculate speed

200

Which part of a farm system is directly improved by the use of fossil-fuel-based fertilizers? 

A. air quality 

B. water purity 

C. soil temperature 

D. nutrients and minerals

D. Fossil-fuel-based fertilizers provide nutrients and minerals to soils.

300

Which word represents the basic unit of heredity in living organisms? A. gene 

B. zygote 

C. nucleus 

D. chromosome

A. gene

400

In 1901, the SS Port Morant became the world’s first refrigerated banana ship. It was equipped with carbon dioxide refrigeration. It could carry 23,000 bunches of bananas from Jamaica to England at a controlled temperature. What impact did cargo ship refrigeration systems have on the banana industry? A. It made transportation of bananas to overseas markets quicker. 

B. It made bananas ripen by the time they arrived at their destination. 

C. It made bananas sweeter than bananas transported without any cooling. 

D. It made shipment of bananas to faraway ports possible with little spoilage

D. Refrigeration slows the rate at which food is spoiled.

500

Use the chemical equation below to answer question  Formation of Carbon Dioxide 

C + O2 CO2 

Which statement best describes the chemicals in the reaction? 

A. C and O2 are reactants, and CO2 is a product. 

B. C and O2 are products, and CO2 is a reactant. 

C. C and CO2 are products because they contain carbon. 

D. C, O2, and CO2 are all reactants because they are involved in a reaction.

A. C and O2 are reactants, and CO2 is a product. 

Key: In a chemical equation, the reactants are located to the left of the arrow, and the products are located to the right.