Introduction
Natural selection is a mechanism of evolution. Organisms that are more adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and pass on the genes that helped them succeed! This process causes species to change and diverge as time goes on an more generations go by.
Natural selection is one of the ways to account for the millions of species that have lived on Earth.
In this webquest, you will complete a natural selection simulation on PHET!
You will learn about the following:
Topics
- Mutation
- Genetics
- Selection
Learning Goals
- Determine which mutations are favored by the selection agents of predators and food variety and which mutations are neutral.
- Describe which traits change the survivability of an organism in different environments.
- Experiment with environments which produce a stable population of bunnies, a population that dies out, and a population that takes over the world.
- Track genes through multiple generations.
- Compare how dominant and recessive genes get passed onto offspring
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You will see that there is a button for mutations. A mutation is a change in the DNA sequence of an organism. Mutations can result from errors in DNA replication during cell division, exposure to mutagens or a viral infection.
Let's look deeper into this! A mutation that humans have include sickle cell anemia.
After completing the Natural Selection PHET, lets look deeper into mutation at the DNA/RNA level by completing the Gene Expression PHET
You will learn about the following
Topics
- Gene Expression
- DNA Transcription
- Protein Synthesis
- Cells
Learning Goals
- Explain the main sequence of events that occur within a cell that leads to protein synthesis.
- Predict how changing the concentrations and interactions of biomolecules affects protein production.
- Explain how protein production in a single cell relates to the quantity produced by a collection of cells.
Task
Click on the link below to begin your PHET adventure in natural selection →
https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/natural-selection/latest/natural-selection_en.html
After you complete a round, go to the Gene Expression PHET simulation →
Evaluation
To ensure you completed all parts of the PHET simulation, please submit the following to Google Classroom under the assignment's tab:
1. Picture of the 3 completed proteins for the GENE EXPRESSION PHET
2. Picture of your DATA PROBE and final statement of the fittest characteristics of your bunnies from the Natural selection PHET