Name: ______________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _______________

1.4 Investigating Changes in Trait Distribution

Activity #1: Do NOW
K= Know​: L= Learned:
An example of an adaptation is the rough skinned newts The adaptation I observed happening in this
having poison to help them survive against predators. Lizard Video ​ ​was...
What other animals have adaptations? What adaptations
do they have?

1._____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
2._____________________________________________
______________________________________________
3._____________________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________

Activity #2: Warm Up L​ ook at the image below and answer the following questions:
 

 
 
1.Describe what you see in ​Generation 1 2.Describe what you see in ​Generation 50 ​Histogram:
Histogram:

3. Do the two histograms show the same amount of ​variation​ in the population at both generations?
a. Yes
b. No
________________________________________________________________________________
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 Name: ______________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _______________
Activity #3: Observing Fur traits and Temperature in the​ SIM   
1. Open the Natural Selection Simulation and open the mode:​ Fur and Temperature A.
2. Change the ​temperature of the environment to cold (Level 1​) by moving the Temperature
slider.
3. Press ​RUN ​and observe the population for at least 50 generations.
4. Press ​ANALYZE​ and compare starting and ending histograms.

Describe what you saw What I observed happening was …

happening in the _____________________________________________________________
simulation. _____________________________________________________________
  _____________________________________________________________

Click on ​ANALYZE ​and

draw the Histogram
Graphs it generated.
Make sure to color
code.

Why do you think the _____________________________________________________________

distribution of fur traits _____________________________________________________________
changed over time?
_____________________________________________________________

Which trait became _____________________________________________________________

more common over _____________________________________________________________
time? Why do you think
this happened? _____________________________________________________________

 
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 Name: ______________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _______________
 
Environment:    Adaptive Trait:  Non-adaptive Trait:
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Activity #4: Modeling changes to the Distribution of Traits   

1. Label the following histogram:

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Name: ______________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _______________

2. Fur and Temperature, Population B

Goal:​ Predict how and why Population B will change after the environment changes from warm to
cold. With your partner complete the following:
● Analyze Histogram 1 and label that histogram with any Trait labels that apply.
● Predict Histogram 2 by shading in the bars for the different trait levels.

3. What similarities and differences do you see between Population A and

Population B and their environments?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________

 
 
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 Name: ______________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _______________
Activity #5: Testing Predictions in the​ ​SIM​ P
​ opulation B   
Goal: ​Test your predictions about how the distribution of fur traits in Ostrilope Population B will
change when the environment becomes colder over time.

1. Open the ​Natural Selection Simulation and open the mode: Fur and Temperature B.
2. Change the temperature of the environment to cold (Level 1) by moving the Temperature slider.
3. Press RUN and observe the population for at least 50 generations.
4. Zoom into the environment and observe several individuals with different traits.
5. Use the Traits Histogram Window to observe the distribution of traits in the population.
6. Press ANALYZE and compare starting and ending histograms.

Click on ​ANALYZE ​and

draw the Histogram
Graphs it generated.
Make sure to color
code.

What happened to _____________________________________________________________

Population B after 50 _____________________________________________________________
generations? Why?
_____________________________________________________________

 
Overall Observations from SIM   

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 Name: ______________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _______________

_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

 
1.4 Independent Tasks 
Activity #6: Histogram Practice  
Look at the Histograms and answer the questions below:

Activity #7: Bill Nye: Evolution Video   

1. Click the link to watch the​ ​Bill Nye
Video Evolution​ ​video and answer the questions below:
1. ​_______________________ ​has been going on for billions of years.

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 Name: ______________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _______________

2. Genes are made up of​______________________​_.

3. The chemistry of all living things is the same / different .

4. DNA is considered to be the building blocks of _​_______________________​__.

5. A human has __​______________________​_ chromosomes.

6. Giraffes have long necks so that they can _​_______________________​__ the leaves that others animals
can’t.

7. ​Highlight one choice​: Evolution by selection is a change that occurs over ​generations / overnight​.

8. A paleontologist is a scientist that studies ___​_______________________​____.

9. The study of life through time is called __​_______________________​___.

10. ​Highlight one choice​: Humans have changed the environment ​faster / slower​ than most living things
can keep up.

11. A(n) _​_______________________​____ can show how life has changed on Earth.

12. Bird feathers and _____​_____________________​________ scales are made of the same things.

13. A ground sloth lived 12,000 years ago during the __​_______________________​_.

14. Natural selection is the changes of size and shape of living things in __​___________________​__.

15. __​______________________​__ was the scientist that developed the Theory of Evolution.
16. In your own words, write a summary about what you learned from this video:

 
Activity #8: Wildlife in the Woods Slides  
1. Use the information in this ​Animals With Insane Survival Adaptations  
2. Complete the handout below as you read and learn about the animals and their adaptations.
Animal Description of Adaptation That Animal Has

Example: ​Texas Horned One adaptation the lizard has evolved to help it survive is that when it
Lizard feels threatened, the lizard will shoot blood out of its eyeballs.

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Name: ______________________________ Period: ___________ Date: _______________

Animal Description of Adaptation That Animal Has

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Activity #9: Go back and finish all of: 

● Packet 1.1 Goal Setting and Natural Selection Pre Assessment ​(packet from last Wednesday)
● Packet 1.2 The mystery of the Poisonous Newts ​(packet from last Thursday/Friday)
● Packet 1.3​ Exploring Variation and Distribution in Populations (packet from Tuesday/Wednesday)
Done early?:   
Work on an Achieve Article/iReady/DreamBox/Moby Max W ​ orld's Deadliest Animals Video 
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