WHAT'S INCLUDED:

This lesson is aligned with NGSS Life Science: Middle School

Standard/ Disciplinary Core Ideas:

• Adaptation by natural selection acting over generations is one important process by which species change over time in response to changes in environmental conditions. Traits that support successful survival and reproduction in the new environment become more common; those that do not become less common. Thus, the distribution of traits in a population changes. (MS-LS4-6)

Task Cards Format: Multiple Choices with two (2) choices:

1. What is natural selection?
   Correct Answer - (Process where traits suited to survival increase)
   
2. What causes species to adapt over generations?
   Correct Answer - (Changes in environmental conditions)
   
3. What happens to traits that improve survival?
   Correct Answer - (They become more common)
   
4. What happens to traits that reduce survival?
   Correct Answer - (They become less common)
   
5. How does natural selection change populations?
   Correct Answer - (By shifting the distribution of traits)
   
6. What determines if a trait becomes common?
   Correct Answer - (Its effect on survival and reproduction)
   
7. What is adaptation?
   Correct Answer - (A trait that evolves for survival)
   
8. What is an example of adaptation?
   Correct Answer - (Longer beaks in birds for food)
   
9. What happens to populations in changing environments?
   Correct Answer - (Traits evolve to match new conditions)
   
10. What is the role of natural selection in evolution?
    Correct Answer - (It drives changes in traits over time)
    
11. How does adaptation affect a species?
    Correct Answer - (It improves survival in the environment)
    
12. What happens when traits no longer suit the environment?
    Correct Answer - (Those traits become less frequent)
    
13. What is an example of natural selection in action?
    Correct Answer - (Peppered moths adapting to pollution)
    
14. What drives changes in a population’s traits?
    Correct Answer - (Environmental pressures selecting beneficial traits)
    
15. How does natural selection affect genetic diversity?
    Correct Answer - (It favors traits suited to survival)
    
16. What does “distribution of traits” refer to?
    Correct Answer - (How common or rare traits are)
    
17. Why do some traits disappear over generations?
    Correct Answer - (They do not support survival or reproduction)
    
18. What is the result of successful adaptation?
    Correct Answer - (Populations become better suited to survive)
    
19. What happens to traits that increase reproduction?
    Correct Answer - (They become more common over time)
    
20. How does natural selection influence evolution?
    Correct Answer - (It causes species to change traits)
    
21. What is an example of environmental change driving adaptation?
    Correct Answer - (Polar bears evolving thicker fur)
    
22. What happens to populations that fail to adapt?
    Correct Answer - (They decline or go extinct)
    
23. Why does natural selection favor certain traits?
    Correct Answer - (They help species survive and reproduce)
    
24. What is the outcome of natural selection over generations?
    Correct Answer - (Populations evolve to match the environment)