Recent Lessons

Show all results for ""

12 Questions

1 Views

Darwin and Natural Selection Quiz

Choose a study mode

Play Quiz

Study Flashcards

Spaced Repetition

Chat to Lesson

Podcast

Play an AI-generated podcast conversation about this lesson

Questions and Answers

Who came up with the theory of natural selection?

Charles Darwin

What is a key process through which living organisms adapt, reproduce, and change?

Natural selection

What is a significant example of natural selection mentioned in the text?

Evolution of peppered moths in the United Kingdom

When did Charles Darwin challenge the status quo with his theory of evolution?

1859 Signup and view all the answers

Who supported Charles Darwin's theory of evolution with their work?

Alfred Wallace Signup and view all the answers

What was the prevailing belief about the origins of living organisms in the western world before Darwin's theory?

All creatures were formed by a single creator Signup and view all the answers

Explain in your own words how natural selection works.

Natural selection is the process through which populations of living organisms adapt, reproduce, and change due to random mutations in DNA of reproductive cells, leading to certain advantageous traits being passed down to offspring. Signup and view all the answers

What does the phrase 'survival of the fittest' refer to in the context of evolutionary theory?

Survival of the fittest refers to fit variants within a population leaving more copies of themselves through reproduction, while less fit variants reproduce less or disappear over generations. Signup and view all the answers

How did the industrial revolution impact the population of peppered moths in the United Kingdom?

The industrial revolution caused pollution that darkened the environment, making white peppered moths more visible to predators and giving a reproductive advantage to dark moths. Signup and view all the answers

Why did dark-winged peppered moths have a reproductive advantage during the industrial revolution?

Dark-winged peppered moths had a reproductive advantage during the industrial revolution because they were less visible to predators in the increasingly polluted environment. Signup and view all the answers

Explain how natural selection can lead to the emergence of new species.

Natural selection can lead to the emergence of new species by favoring certain traits that provide a reproductive advantage, causing those traits to become dominant in a population over generations. Signup and view all the answers

Why is it important for traits to be heritable in the context of natural selection?

It is important for traits to be heritable because if advantageous traits can be passed down from parent to offspring, there will be a reproductive advantage, leading to the concept of 'fitness' in evolutionary theory. Signup and view all the answers