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Interactive Assessment for Natural Selection and Adaptation

Start Video
Screen shot of the quiz

Topic

  • Genetics
  • Gene Expression & Regulation
  • Evolution
  • Natural Selection
  • Population Genetics

Resource Type

  • Interactive Media
  • Interactive Videos

Level

High School — GeneralHigh School — AP/IBCollege
Saved By
96 Users
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View in Spanish

Description

Several questions are embedded within the short film The Making of the Fittest: Natural Selection and Adaptation, which uses the rock pocket mouse as a living example of natural selection.

This film uses the rock pocket mouse as a living example of Darwin’s process of natural selection. It highlights the research of Michael Nachman, who has quantified predation on rock pocket mice and identified adaptive changes in coat-color genes that allow the mice to travel under the radar of hungry predators.

This version of the film with embedded questions contains automatic pause points, during which students answer questions about the film to assess their understanding of the concepts presented. After answering all the questions, students can view and print their answers.  

Student Learning Targets

  • Describe what a mutation is and how it may affect an individual’s survival and reproduction depending on environment.
  • Explain how variation, selection, and time fuel the process of evolution through natural selection. 
     

Estimated Time

Within one 50-minute class period.

Key Terms

camouflage, melanin, melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R), mutation, rock pocket mouse, selective pressure, trait, variation

Primary Literature

Nachman, Michael W., Hopi E. Hoekstra, and Susan L. D’Agostino. “The Genetic Basis of Adaptive Melanism in Pocket Mice.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 100, 9 (2003): 5268–5273.

Terms of Use

Please see the Terms of Use for information on how this resource can be used.

Accessibility Level (WCAG compliance)

PDF files meet criteria. Interactive media meets criteria. Spanish files meet criteria.

Version History

Date Published 02.05.15
Date Updated 05.25.21

NGSS (2013)

HS-LS1-1, HS-LS2-1, HS-LS3-1, HS-LS3-3, HS-LS4-3; SEP6

AP Biology (2019)

EVO-1.C, EVO-1.D, EVO-1.E, EVO-1.G, EVO-1.H, EVO-3.A, SYI-3.D, IST-2.E, IST-4.A, IST-4.B; SP1

IB Biology (2016)

4.1, 5.4, D.2

AP Environmental Science (2020)

Topic(s): 2.6, 9.9
Learning Objectives & Practices: ERT-2.H, EIN-4.B

Common Core (2010)

MP2

Vision and Change (2009)

CC1, CC5; DP1

Materials

Embedded Questions (PDF) 297 KB

Use This Resource With

Video Resource
The Making of the Fittest: Natural Selection and Adaptation

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Other Related Resources

Showing of
A light colored pocket mouse on light colored lava.
Short Films
The Making of the Fittest: Natural Selection and Adaptation
Photos of different colored mice on different colored terrains
Lessons
What Causes Different Fur Colors?
Photo of a pocket mouse being held by a researcher
Film Activities
Activity for Natural Selection and Adaptation
Diagram from the activity
Card Activities
Color Variation Over Time in Rock Pocket Mouse Populations
Screenshot of mouse fur evolution animation
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Developing an Explanation for Mouse Fur Color
Image from the activity
Labs & Demos
Battling Beetles
Photo of a researcher looking at a computer
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Allele and Phenotype Frequencies in Rock Pocket Mouse Populations
Bar graph taken from the resource
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Analyzing Data on Tuskless Elephants
Computer image of a light and dark mouse on cooled lava
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Simulating Evolution of a Rock Pocket Mouse Population
Screen shot of the quiz
Interactive Videos
Interactive Assessment for Evolving Switches, Evolving Bodies
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