Evolution practice Assignment. BACTERIA EVOLVING
Your teacher has just told you the story of Ed the bacteria. The story involves bacteria
which are resistant to antibiotics. Antibiotics are medicines designed to kill bacteria,
Some bacteria are resistant to being killed by antibiotics. These resistant bacteria have
genes which allow them to live with antibiotics in their environment
Your job is to re-tell the story of Ed . Use each of the terms in your story.
Write the story on a separate page. Underline each term as it is used in your story.
Terms
1. Population
2. mutation of a gene
3. Variation in traits
4. Change in the environment
5. Natural Selection…(or “nature selected”….etc….)
6. Best adapted to the new environment (most fit to survive)
7. microevolution (or small “e” evolution
8. change in the population over time
Questions:
1. At any point in the story did a single bacteria change it’s traits?
2. Is the population of bacteria that you ended up with different from the
population of bacteria that you started with?
3. Where did the new trait for antibiotic resistance come from?
4. Do you predict that there will be more antibiotic resistant bacteria in
the years to come? Explain.
Evolution practice Assignment.
“REINDEER EVOLUTION”
Tell the story of a population of reindeer with black noses who become a population of
reindeer with red noses.
Use each of the terms in your story.
Write the story on a separate page. Underline each term as it is used in your story.
Terms

Population

Mutation of a gene

Variation in traits

Change in the environment

Natural Selection…or

Best adapted to the new environment

Most likely to reproduce successfully

Microevolution

Change in the population over time

Charles Darwin
“nature selected”
( or Macroevolution )
Questions:
1. Is the population of reindeer that you ended up with different from
the population of bacteria that you started with?
2. At any point in the story did a black nosed reindeer change into a
red nosed reindeer ?
3. Where did the new trait come from?
4. Do you predict that there will be more red-nosed reindeer in the years
to come? Explain.
Evolution practice Assignment. IGUANA EVOLUTION
Tell the story of a population of Green tree-dwelling Iguanas who are washed out to sea
during a storm. The Iguanas end up landing on the Galopagos Islands…which are made
mostly of bare, black volcanic rock with a few plants. They change over time to a
population of black web-footed iguanas
Use each of the terms in your story.
Write the story on a separate page. Underline each term as it is used in your story.
Terms










Population
Isolated Population
Mutation of a gene
Variation in traits
Change in the environment
Competition
Natural Selection…(or “nature selected”….etc….)
Best adapted to the new environment (most fit to survive)
Microevolution or Macroevolution
Change in the population over time

Charles Darwin
Questions:
5. Is the population of Iguanas that you ended up with different from the
population of Iguanas that you started with? ___________
6. At any point in the story did a green iguana change into a black
web-footed iguana ? __________
7. Where did the new traits come from?
8. Do you predict that there will be more Black web-footed iguanas in
the years to come? Explain.
Evolution practice Assignment. Peppered Moths
Tell the story of the peppered moths which is shared in your text-book.
Use each of the terms in your story.
Write the story on a separate page. Underline each term as it is used in your story.
Terms


Population
Mutation of a gene



Variation in traits
Change in the environment
Natural Selection…(or “nature selected” )





Best adapted to the new environment (most fit to survive)
Competition
Most likely to reproduce successfully
Microevolution or Macroevolution
Change in the population over time

Charles Darwin
Questions:
9.
Is the population of moths that you ended up with different from the
population of moths that you started with?
10. At any point in the story did a white moth change into a black
moth?
11. Where did the new trait come from?
12.
Do you predict that there will be more black moths in the years to
come? Explain.