Animal | Plant |
---|---|
Matched pair 1: fitness | |
1A. Which characteristic would a biologist find most important in deciding which animals are the “most fit”? The animal | 1B. Which characteristic would a biologist find most important in deciding which plants are the “most fit”? The plant |
a. that lives the longest | a. with the largest number of seeds that grow into new plants |
b. that eats the most food | b. that is the strongest and dominates others in the population |
c. with the most number of babies that survive and reproduce | c. that lives the longest |
d. that is the strongest and dominates others in the population | d. that has the most leaves |
Matched pair 2: origin of trait/genetic mechanism | |
2A. Within a population of blue jays, there are differences in beak size. What causes these differences? | 2B. Within a population of prickly pear cactus plants, there is variation in the number of spines that keep predators from eating them. What causes these variations? |
a. Blue jays have lots of different mutations in their genes | a. Random genetic changes within the population lead to differences in the number of spines |
b. Random genetic changes within the population lead to differences in beak size | b. Changes in the predators that eat them lead to random mutations that change the number of spines |
c. Changes in the food source lead to random mutations that change beak size | c. Cactus plants have lots of different mutations in their genes |
d. Beak size is not controlled by genes | d. Genes do not control the number of spines |
Matched pair 3: origin of trait/genetic mechanism | |
3A. Although most skunks are black and white, some are grey and others are light-colored. Where did the variations in fur color within a population of skunk most likely come from? | 3B. Although most chili peppers are spicy, some are not so spicy and others are very spicy. Where did the variations in spiciness within a population of chili peppers most likely come from? |
a. The skunks needed to change in order to survive, so new colors developed | a. The chili peppers needed to change in order to survive, so more spicy chilies developed |
b. The skunks changed their color in response to changes in the environment | b. Changes in DNA that happen by chance led to different levels of spiciness |
c. Changes in DNA that happen by chance led to new colors | c. The environment caused mutations in the peppers’ DNA that helped them to survive |
d. The environment caused mutations in the skunks’ DNA that helped them to survive | d. The chili peppers changed their spiciness in response to changes in the environment |
Matched pair 4: variation | |
4A. Populations of bighorn sheep are made up of hundreds of individual sheep. These sheep | 4B. Populations of yucca plants are made up of hundreds of individual plants. These plants |
a. are identical to each other | a. vary in many ways |
b. vary in many ways | b. are identical to each other |
c. are each unique in every way | c. are each unique in every way |