1. 1.Draw the chart on your science notebook OR the back of power notes sheet. 2.Choose an animal that you know something about, such as a deer, and write its name 3.Under Trait, write in several of the animal’s features or characteristics (traits) 4.Under Advantage, write in how you think the trait would be helpful to the animal. DO NOW Animal Name: Polar Bear TraitAdvantage White fur Layer of fat under fur Big paws Blend into the white snow To keep warm in the cold arctic To help it swim in the ocean

2. DAY 1 Topic 8 – Natural Selection

3. Natural Selection: A Mechanism of Change THEORY OF EVOLUTION

4. WHAT ARE WE LEARNING TODAY? Benchmarks SC.912.L.15.13 – Describe the conditions required for natural selection, including: overproduction of offspring, inherited variation, and the struggle to survive, which result in differential reproductive success. Learning Objectives I will analyze the reasoning in Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. I will relate the concepts of adaptation and differential reproductive success to the theory of natural selection.

5. “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” Charles Darwin After reading the quote above and learning about Darwin’s theory of natural selection, what do you think he meant by it? WHAT IS THE ESSENTIAL QUESTION?

6. WHO IS CHARLES DARWIN?  Greatest contributor to our understanding of evolution.  Evolution is the change of allele frequencies in a population over time.  Evolution is the process by which modern organisms have descended from ancient organisms.

7.  Natural selection is the process by which the best adapted organisms survive and reproduce.  An adaptation is any inherited characteristic that increases an organism’s chance of survival. WHAT IS AN ADAPTATION? Stripes to help them hide Long, retractable claws to grab prey Long, sturdy tail to help with balance Razor sharp teeth with muscular jaws to kill prey Eyes with light reflective retina to see in the dark Loose abdomen skin to reduce injury when kicked

8. WHAT ADAPTATIONS IMPROVE THIS ORGANISM’S ABILITY TO SURVIVE?

9. What is taking place in this picture? o Grasshoppers can lay over 200 eggs at a time. o Only a small fraction of these offspring survive to reproduce.  Organisms produce more offspring than can survive. WHAT IS OVERPRODUCTION OF OFFSPRING?

10. What are some of the differences you see in the population of grasshoppers? What do you think causes these variations?  Inherited variations are the heritable differences that exists in every population.  Mutations  Recombination WHAT IS INHERITED VARIATION?

11. How would you describe the environment in which the grasshopper lives? Which grasshopper is better adapted to survive in this environment? What would happen to this population if a drought caused the grass to turn brown? WHAT IS THE STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE?

12.  Certain heritable variations, called adaptations, increase an individual’s chance of surviving and reproducing. o Heritable variation includes brown and green body color. o Green coloration is an adaptation that allows grasshoppers to blend into their environment to be less visible to their predators. WHAT IS THE STRUGGLE TO SURVIVE?

13. What do you think it means that “ green grasshoppers have a greater differential reproductive success than brown grasshoppers ?”  Green grasshoppers survive and reproduce more often than do brown grasshoppers in this environment. WHAT IS DIFFERENTIAL REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS?

14.  Organisms whose traits are best suited to the environment experience better reproductive success and become more common 1)more grasshoppers are born than can survive, 2)individuals vary in color, a heritable trait, and 3)green individuals have a higher differential reproductive success in the current environment DIFFERENTIAL REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS

15. HOW DOES EVOLUTION BY NATURAL SELECTION WORK?  The peppered moth is a small insect found in North America and Europe.  Peppered moths fly at night/rest during the day to avoid being eaten by diurnal predators.  The pattern on peppered moths’ wings look very similar to lichens, giving them excellent camouflage.  While the typical peppered moth is light, some have dark, almost black bodies. Others have many more dark spots that the average peppered moths.

16. SUMMARY OF DARWIN’S THEORY (NATURAL SELECTION)  Individuals organisms within a species are different.  Some of these differences are passed down from parent to offspring, or heritable.  Individuals produce more offspring that can survive due to limited resources creating a struggle for existence.  Individuals best suited, or adapted, to their environment survive to experience higher differential reproductive success.

17.  Natural selection  Evolution  Differential reproductive success  Inherited variation  Adaptation  Traits  Population  Offspring  Survival of the fittest  Environment  Predator  Advantage Create a paragraph (using vocabulary words to the right) that explains how natural selection affected the population of peppered moths. Make sure you fully explain all vocabulary words that you use. YOU DO: Your ChallengeVocabulary Words:

18. “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” Charles Darwin After reading the quote above and learning about Darwin’s theory of natural selection, what do you think he meant by it? WHAT IS THE ESSENTIAL QUESTION?

19. HOW DOES EVOLUTION BY NATURAL SELECTION WORK?

20. COMET ORCHID