Science Assessment ~ Items ~ EN034002

A population is a group of individuals of the same species. Can the percent of individuals with certain traits in a population change because the environment changes?

Yes, when the environment changes, individuals in a population can change their inherited traits to better fit the environment, and this changes the percent of individuals with certain traits in that population.
Yes, when the environment changes, individuals with certain inherited traits survive and reproduce and other individuals with different inherited traits die, and this changes the percent of individuals with certain traits in a population.
No, the percent of individuals with certain inherited traits in a population changes randomly from one generation to the next, never as a result of changes to the environment.
No, the percent of individuals with certain inherited traits in a population cannot change because a population is all one species and so will always have the same inherited traits.

Details
Performance
NGSS

Topic: Evolution and Natural Selection
Correct Answer: B
Misconceptions

Distribution of Responses

Chart showing distrubtion of responses for Item EN034002

Students Responding Correctly

Group	Correct	Total	Percent
Overall	2122	4661	46%
Grades
6–8	1171	2889	41%
9–12	951	1772	54%
Gender
Male	1003	2203	46%
Female	1084	2367	46%
Primary Language
English	1899	4160	46%
Other	168	383	44%

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 EN034002: Some organisms survive and others die as the environment changes; this changes the percent of organisms with certain traits in that population.