EVOLUTION CONCEPT CARTOONS with ?’s

DECIDE WHO IS CORRECT? BY: Dianne Anderson and Kathleen Fisher

http://www.biologylessons.sdsu.edu/cartoons/concepts.html

Answer D is correct, because an individual can't change his/her own genes in a certain way through certain activities. Mutations certainly occur during an organism's lifetime, but they are completely unpredictable, and very unlikely to take place in reproductive cells like eggs and sperm. Answers A, B, and C are all related to the Lamarckian idea that traits acquired during the lifetime can be passed to offspring.

Answer B is correct because it refers to competition for water and sunlight. Answer A is wrong because organisms compete with others like themselves, not just other species.Answer C says that plants do not compete, which is inaccurate. Answer D denies that resources are ever limited.

Character A has the best answer. A trait typically becomes more common if there is some advantage to organisms that have that trait. Answer B: is irrelevantAnswer C reflects a common misconception that dominant alleles are somehow stronger. Answer D is wrong; Mutations DO NOT always have negative effects.  

Answer B is the best because Spot has won the reproduction contest. The organism able to pass on genes to more offspring than the other guy is the most "fit" in biological terms. Answers A and C are misconceptions; the biggest, strongest, and fastest are not always the “MOST FIT” EX: using energy more efficiently, being able to withstand extreme conditions, or being better camouflaged than other members of the population can make an organism the “most fit” in an environment. Answer D: mating doesn’t always guarantee surviving offspring; most don’t make it

Character C is correct, because mutations are always random changes in the DNA sequence. Characters A and B are wrong because certain individuals have a better chance of surviving based on the traits they possess. These are not random eventsD is wrong because only the occurrence of mutations is random who you mate with and who gets eaten are not.

Character B is correct since reproduction typically takes place whether there are enough resources or not. Obviously, all of the offspring will not survive if times are tough. Most organisms have no control over the number of offspring they produce. 

Answer B is most accurate, due to variation in large populations of insects. The few ants that may be able to survive the spray will reproduce to make the next generation. Answer A is wrong because all populations have natural variation.Answer C is wrong; resistant ants in next generation come from reproduction of parent ants that were resistant.

Character C is correct. All bacteria do not acquire resistance, and people do not become resistant to antibiotics (although the bacteria inside them can).

Correct answer: “it depends on the environment” There is NO BEST characteristic. Different characteristics would make an organism the “fittest” in different environments! Organisms within populations typically vary in many respects. "A" may have a greater chance of surviving to reproduce than "B" if an herbicide is used, but not if hungry caterpillars are a problem. "D" may be a real winner at attracting more insects, but may require more water than "C".

Character A is correct, although mutation is only one of two sources of genetic variation - the other is sexual recombination. Answers B and C are not accurate because they are really backwards. Natural selection works on variation that already exists, and the same is true for adaptation. Variation allows adaptation to take place.

Character C is correct, and various blood types are just one example of human variation. Answer A reflects the common but mistaken idea that although we look different on the outside, we are all the same on the inside. Answer B is correct in that our environment does influence how we end up, but genes definitely ARE involved.