Evolution
Evolution and Natural Selection
Item EN023001: When a new predator is introduced into a population of lizards, the lizards with the traits that help them avoid the predator are more likely to survive and reproduce than the others.
According to the theory of natural selection, what would happen to a species of lizards when a new predator is introduced into the environment where the lizards live?
- The lizards that already have the physical traits needed to avoid the new predator would be more likely to survive and reproduce, and the ones that do not would be less likely to survive and reproduce.
- All of the lizards would try to develop new physical traits to avoid the new predator.
- Some of the lizards would try to develop new physical traits to avoid the new predator, and the other lizards would die.
- Because all lizards of the same species have the same physical traits, one lizard would not have an advantage over another lizard. They would either all survive or all die.
- Distribution of Responses
- Points Earned
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 231 | 572 | 40% |
| Grades | |||
| 6–8 | 6 | 18 | 33% |
| 9–12 | 204 | 502 | 41% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 93 | 245 | 38% |
| Female | 120 | 283 | 42% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 208 | 511 | 41% |
| Other | 8 | 18 | 44% |
- Distribution of Responses
- Points Earned
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 157 | 274 | 57% |
| Grades | |||
| 6–8 | 10 | 14 | 71% |
| 9–12 | 128 | 230 | 56% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 67 | 119 | 56% |
| Female | 74 | 130 | 57% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 133 | 237 | 56% |
| Other | 6 | 9 | 67% |
- Distribution of Responses
- Points Earned
| Group | Correct | Total | Percent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 164 | 278 | 59% |
| Grades | |||
| 6–8 | 4 | 4 | 100% |
| 9–12 | 143 | 248 | 58% |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 76 | 130 | 58% |
| Female | 77 | 131 | 59% |
| Primary Language | |||
| English | 148 | 251 | 59% |
| Other | 2 | 5 | 40% |
- Disciplinary Core Ideas
- LS4.C For any particular environment, some kinds of organisms survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.
LS4.C Natural selection leads to adaptation, that is, to a population dominated by organisms that are anatomically, behaviorally, and physiologically well suited to survive and reproduce in a specific environment. That is, the differential survival and reproduction of organisms in a population that have an advantageous heritable trait leads to an increase in the proportion of individuals in future generations that have the trait and to a decrease in the proportion of individuals that do not. - NRC Framework
- Grade 8 LS4.B Genetic variations among individuals in a population give some individuals an advantage in surviving and reproducing in their environment.