Natural Selection

Question 1

What is the definition of Natural Selection

Answer 1

• Natural selection is the process by which individuals that are best suited to their environment pass on their genes.

Question 2

What observations did Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace make about natural selection?

Answer 2

1. Members of the same species are often physically different
2. Offspring look like their parents
3. There are more offspring (children) than parents
4. Some offspring do not survive

Question 3

What two inferences did he make from these observations?

Answer 3

1. In the struggle to survive, the individuals that are most suited (adapted) to their environment will survive.
2. Surviving individuals pass their genetic traits on to their offspring.