💥 Category 1: Vocabulary & Traits
What do we call a physical characteristic like fur color or beak size?
Trait
Which population is more likely to survive change: one with variation or one without?
Population with variation
What happens when an environment becomes snowy for foxes?
White foxes survive more.
Can a mutation randomly create a new trait even if adults didn’t have it?
Yes
Which giraffe population has more tall individuals: Niger or Somalia?
Somalia
What do we call differences in traits among individuals of a population?
Variation
If a population only has thick feathers and the water becomes warm, what happens to most ducks?
They overheat and die.
What caused seals with thick blubber to increase in a colder ocean?
Thick-blubber seals were more likely to survive and reproduce.
Why did green snakes become more common after the grass grew?
Green snakes survived more and reproduced.
When was there more variation in guppy spot size: 40 years ago or last year?
40 years ago
What do we call a change in a gene that may create a new trait?
Mutation
Why does population 2 survive in the hummingbird question?
It has variation (short and long beaks).
In warm water, which seals survive?
Seals with thin blubber
Why is the fox population prediction with white foxes correct?
A mutation occurred, white foxes survived, and reproduced.
Which cactus population had larger spines: 1970 or 2015?
2015
What do we call a trait that helps an organism survive in its environment?
Adaptive trait
Why might a population become mostly one trait after many generations?
Individuals with that trait survive more and reproduce more.
Why are squirrels with matching tree color more likely to survive?
They are harder for predators to see and catch.
Can thin-beak blue jays ever exist in a hard-seed environment? Why?
Yes, mutation may create it, but it would likely die early.
Which squirrel population has more black squirrels: Time 1 or Time 2?
Time 2
True or False: Animals choose to change their traits if needed for survival.
False — traits are inherited; they cannot choose to change.
What must exist before natural selection can happen?
Variation in the population
If rocks became smaller in a river, what happens to guppies?
Small-spot guppies survive more and become common over time.
Explain why Zora might be right in the guppy written response (mutation + environment).
There was a mutation AND small spots helped guppies survive.
Which population shows greater variation: wild vs nature-preserved giraffes?
Wild giraffes