Battling Beetles

This activity engages students in learning about the mechanism of evolution by natural selection and Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium using candies to represent populations of beetles.

Students begin by making observations about two containers of candies that they are told represent samples of male beetles from two different populations. They then perform an experiment to determine which population has a harder shell. They then use these data to make a claim about which beetles are more likely to survive and reproduce. They then apply these observations to the evolution of rock pocket mice.  

In the second part of the activity, students apply the Hardy-Weinberg equation to the beetle populations and learn to use the equation to model selection.