Evolution
Evolution and Natural Selection
Item EN026003: A population can differ from its ancestors because an environmental change could affect which individuals are more likely to survive and reproduce, based on which inherited traits they have.
A population is a group of individuals of the same species. Could a population living today differ from their ancestors from many generations ago? Why or why not?
- Yes, an environmental change could affect which individuals are more likely to survive and reproduce based on which inherited traits they have.
- Yes, an environmental change could cause individuals to make more use of certain inherited traits and pass down improved versions of these traits to their offspring.
- No, populations are all the same species and therefore have the same set of inherited traits no matter how many generations pass.
- No, the environment could not change enough over time for certain inherited traits to become more useful than others.
Pre-Test
Answer Choice |
Overall |
Grades |
Gender |
Primary Language |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n = 580 |
6–8 n = 25 |
9–12 n = 514 |
Male n = 254 |
Female n = 286 |
English n = 526 |
Other n = 13 |
||
| A. | Yes, an environmental change could affect which individuals are more likely to survive and reproduce based on which inherited traits they have. | 38% | 44% | 38% | 37% | 40% | 38% | 54% |
| B. | Yes, an environmental change could cause individuals to make more use of certain inherited traits and pass down improved versions of these traits to their offspring. | 52% | 48% | 52% | 52% | 51% | 52% | 38% |
| C. | No, populations are all the same species and therefore have the same set of inherited traits no matter how many generations pass. | 8% | 4% | 8% | 9% | 6% | 8% | 8% |
| D. | No, the environment could not change enough over time for certain inherited traits to become more useful than others. | 2% | 4% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 0% |
Post-Test (Control)
Answer Choice |
Overall |
Grades |
Gender |
Primary Language |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n = 255 |
6–8 n = 15 |
9–12 n = 195 |
Male n = 97 |
Female n = 119 |
English n = 205 |
Other n = 6 |
||
| A. | Yes, an environmental change could affect which individuals are more likely to survive and reproduce based on which inherited traits they have. | 52% | 60% | 50% | 53% | 50% | 51% | 17% |
| B. | Yes, an environmental change could cause individuals to make more use of certain inherited traits and pass down improved versions of these traits to their offspring. | 42% | 40% | 42% | 37% | 46% | 42% | 67% |
| C. | No, populations are all the same species and therefore have the same set of inherited traits no matter how many generations pass. | 4% | 0% | 5% | 5% | 3% | 4% | 0% |
| D. | No, the environment could not change enough over time for certain inherited traits to become more useful than others. | 2% | 0% | 3% | 5% | 1% | 2% | 17% |
Post-Test (Treatment)
Answer Choice |
Overall |
Grades |
Gender |
Primary Language |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n = 301 |
6–8 n = 8 |
9–12 n = 274 |
Male n = 134 |
Female n = 150 |
English n = 274 |
Other n = 9 |
||
| A. | Yes, an environmental change could affect which individuals are more likely to survive and reproduce based on which inherited traits they have. | 51% | 25% | 51% | 54% | 47% | 50% | 67% |
| B. | Yes, an environmental change could cause individuals to make more use of certain inherited traits and pass down improved versions of these traits to their offspring. | 47% | 75% | 47% | 44% | 51% | 48% | 33% |
| C. | No, populations are all the same species and therefore have the same set of inherited traits no matter how many generations pass. | 2% | 0% | 1% | 1% | 3% | 1% | 0% |
| D. | No, the environment could not change enough over time for certain inherited traits to become more useful than others. | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 0% | 0% | 0% |