Natural Selection Simulation Before you begin, watch the video “Genetic Variation: The Basis for Natural Selection” Learning objectives Students are expected to be proficient with either Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Docs Presentation tool prior to instruction. Following instruction, the student will use Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Docs to… 1. Create a theoretical population of an organism. 1a. Define “population.” 1b. Define “organism.” 2. Propose a situation in which natural selection would occur. 2a. Recall the definition of natural selection. 2b. Define “selective force.” 2c. Provide an example of a selective force. 3. Illustrate how a selective force shapes a population. 3a. Describe how a selective force shapes a population. 4. Assess if evolution has occurred in a population. 4a. Explain why and how a population changed between generations.

In this assignment, you will create a theoretical situation in which natural selection occurs. First, define population: Define organism: Define genetic variation: With those definitions in mind, open shape tool in PowerPoint. Insert shapes to make a population of organisms with genetic variability in the space below. Each shape represents one organism. The space is the organisms’ habitat. Define selective force: Define competition: Define limited resource: Define predation: Predation and competition for limited resources are examples of selective forces. What selective force is acting on your population (you get to choose)? How will this theoretical selective force affect your population? Make a population of 20 organisms out of shapes here. Copy the population to slide 3.

This slide represents the first generation of the same population at a later time. Consider the selective force you selected, and in the box below, indicate how the population has changed by omitting some the organisms (shapes). This is the first generation after the selective pressure has eliminated some individuals Paste the population from slide 2, then make deletions based on the selective force you chose.

This slide represents the second generation of the same population. Assume that most of the individuals in slide 3 successfully reproduce. In the box below, indicate how the population looks after a reproductive bout. This is the second generation. It should include about 30 individuals. Use the shapes to make organisms and show how the next generation of the population would appear. Note that reproduction occurred between slide 3 and this slide. Answer the questions on the next two slides.

Do the two generations (slides 2 and 4) of your population depict natural selection? Define natural selection: Define evolution: Why does the population on slide 4 (generation 2) differ from the population on slide 2 (generation 1)? How might you expect the population to change in subsequent generations? How might generation 2 have looked if individuals were eliminated at random rather than by some selective force? (You can either create an example below using shapes or describe with words.) Answer the question on the next slide.

Think of an actual species, or look one up online. Post a picture of a population of the species below. What variation do you see in the population? What adaptations do all individuals have? What selective forces may shape those adaptations? What selective force, if it arose, might eliminate some of the variation in the population?