2025 Natural Selection Assessment

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What is natural selection?

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Natural selection is the process by which organisms that are better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. It is a key mechanism of evolution.

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What happens to beneficial traits in a population over time?

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Beneficial traits tend to increase in frequency within a population because they enhance the survival and reproductive success of individuals.

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What is the significance of fossils in understanding evolution?

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Fossils provide evidence of past life forms and their evolutionary relationships, helping scientists understand how species have changed over time.

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What did Charles Darwin observe on the Galápagos Islands?

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Darwin observed that species on the islands were somewhat similar to those found in South America but had traits that suited their specific environments.

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What is an evolutionarily favorable trait?

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An evolutionarily favorable trait is one that increases an organism's success at leaving healthy offspring, thereby enhancing its chances of survival.

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What is directional natural selection?

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Directional natural selection occurs when individuals with a certain trait are favored, causing the trait's frequency to shift in one direction over time.

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What is stabilizing natural selection?

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Stabilizing natural selection favors average traits and reduces variation, leading to a decrease in extremes within a population.

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What is disruptive natural selection?

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Disruptive natural selection occurs when extreme traits are favored over average traits, potentially leading to the formation of new species.

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How do environmental changes affect natural selection?

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Environmental changes can alter which traits are beneficial, leading to shifts in the population's genetic makeup as those traits become more or less common.

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What role do mutations play in evolution?

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Mutations introduce new genetic variations into a population, which can lead to new traits that may be subject to natural selection.