Science Assessment ~ Items ~ EN021002

A population is a group of individuals of the same species. According to the theory of natural selection, what is likely to happen to a population when a change occurs in its environment (for example, the amount of rainfall decreases or the temperature increases)?

The individuals that have traits better suited to the changed environment would be more likely to survive and reproduce than those with less suitable traits.
All of the individuals would try to develop new traits so that they could survive and reproduce in the changed environment.
Some of the individuals would try to develop new traits so that they could survive and reproduce, and the other individuals would die.
Because all individuals of the same species have the same traits, one individual would never have an advantage over another in its population. They would either all survive or all die.

Details
Performance
NGSS

Topic: Evolution and Natural Selection
Correct Answer: A
Misconceptions

Distribution of Responses

Chart showing distrubtion of responses for Item EN021002

Students Responding Correctly

Group	Correct	Total	Percent
Overall	3568	9409	38%
Grades
6–8	1685	5866	29%
9–12	1883	3543	53%
Gender
Male	1750	4463	39%
Female	1743	4740	37%
Primary Language
English	3210	8397	38%
Other	263	761	35%

View data table

Disciplinary Core Ideas: LS4.C Adaptation by natural selection acting over generations is one important process by which species change over time in response to changes in environmental conditions. Traits that support successful survival and reproduction in the new environment become more common; those that do not become less common. Thus, the distribution of traits in a population changes.

Science Assessment

Item EN021002: When a change occurs in the environment, the individuals that have traits that are better suited for the changed environment would be more likely to survive and reproduce.