Variations in the Clam Species Clamys sweetus

Description
This activity engages students in learning about the mechanism of natural selection using candies to represent individuals of a species of clam.
Students begin by making observations about two containers of candies that they are told represent individuals from two strains of a species of clam. They then perform an experiment to determine which “strain” has a harder shell and graph the data. They then use these data to make a claim about which “strain” is more likely to survive in the presence of an arthropod that can eat a clam by crushing its shell. At the end of the activity, they examine several statements about natural selection and identify the one most likely to be accurate.
Student Learning Targets
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Construct a bar graph using class data from an experiment.
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Design an experiment to test a hypothesis about the differential survival of individuals in a population.
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Explain how variations in traits in a population may result in the differential survival of individuals.
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Explain the role of natural selection in evolution.
Details
adaptation, dependent variable, experiment, fitness, frequency, graph, independent variable, predator, survival
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Curriculum Connections
HS-LS4-2, HS-LS4-3, HS-LS4-4; SEP1, SEP2, SEP3, SEP6
EVO-1.C, EVO-1.E, EVO-1.H, EVO-1.J, EVO-1.O, SYI-3.D; SP1, SP2, SP3, SP4, SP6
5.2
II.C
3.2
ELA.RST.9–12.3, ELA.RST.9–12.7
Math.S-ID.3; MP2, MP4
CC1; DP1, DP2, DP3