Module 4 Intro
1. Module 4 Intro
1.3. Lesson 1 Intro
Module 4—Mechanisms of Population Change
Lesson 1—Adaptation, Variation, and Natural Selection
Get Focused
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The girls on a soccer team are all very close in age, but they may not all have the same skill level. You’ve probably played on a sports team with players of different abilities. Why are some people better soccer players then others? If all individuals had identical playing ability, how would you pick an MVP? What about picking a goalie? How could you choose the best player to put on the all-star team?
Evolution, like a soccer team, depends on individuals having different characteristics. Individuals with helpful characteristics will be able to survive better. How is it decided if a characteristic is helpful or not helpful?
You may have noticed that individuals from the same family look similar. Maybe you have your mom’s nose or the same eye colour as your dad. Are you a good soccer player? Are your parents good soccer players? Some characteristics can be passed from one generation to the next. How have these characteristics helped you survive and thrive? What characteristics have made your life more difficult?
In this lesson you will look at the differences or variations that exist within species, how variations are created, and what process leads to changes in populations.
In this lesson you will explore the following essential questions:
- How do mutations create species variability?
- Why is sexual reproduction important to the process of evolution?
Module 4: Lesson 1 Assignment
You teacher-marked Module 4: Lesson 1 Assignment requires you to submit a response to the following:
- TR 1. Peppered Moth Simulation
- Watch and Listen: Sickle Cell Anemia: An Advantage or a Disadvantage?
- Watch and Listen: The Peacock and Natural Selection
- TR 2. Selective Pressures
- LAB: Finch Beak Depth
You can access your Module 4: Lesson 1 Assignment. You can print off the assignment or save the download to your computer. Your answers can be saved on this document to your course folder.
The other questions in this lesson are not marked by the teacher; however, you should still answer these questions. The Self-Check and Try This questions are placed in this lesson to help you review important information and build key concepts that may be applied in future lessons.
After a discussion with your teacher, you must decide what to do with the questions that are not part of your assignment. For example, you may decide to submit to your teacher the responses to Try This questions that are not marked. You may decide to record the answers to all the questions in the lesson and place those answers in your course folder.