Play as students

enter room
Symphony of
science.
>

www.theurbn.com/2011/09/synthetic-biology-engineering-life-or-engineering-for-better-life/sytheticbiology/

http://my.opera.com/SleepingJosephine/albums/showpic.dml?
album=1186531&picture=15987761

Topic 18 Variation and Selection

Natural Selection
LO To explain how natural selection leads to evolution
What do all of these have in common?

Charles Darwin (1802-1882)

The term Natural selection
was
introduced
by
Charles Darwin in his book
The Origin of Species

Natural Selection
REMEBER: Evolution is the change in
adaptive features of a population over
time as the result of natural selection

Evolutio
n

Theory of Natural Selection

Living things produce
more offspring
(constant struggle for
existence)
The individuals in a
population vary in their
appearance
Some of this variation
is inheritable

Survival of the fittest

The better
adapted
members of the
species are more
likely to survive
> Phet animation

Modelling Natural Selection in action

On a distant
planet there
exists 4 species
of a creature
called a
Woolybooger
Each
Woolybooger is
similar except
their mouth has
variations.

All woolyboogers eat beans. Some have a mouth

shaped like a clothespeg, some like tweezers
and others like a needle.

One year a new

species of
woolybooger
was discovered,
this was called
the SpoonMouthed
Woolybooger

Each of you will play the part of a woolybooger on this planet.

You will run through

several trials.
Each trial will require
your woolybooger to
gain at least 20
beans.
If 20 beans are not
acquired during the
time period, your
woolybooger has died.

Start with 1 minute

on the clock.
Then reduce the
time to 45 seconds,
then 30 seconds,
then 15 seconds.

When a woolybooger dies, you can play the

offspring of the surviving woolyboogers
Q :
Can you think of
any real-life
examples of the
woolybooger, where
one species has a
definite advantage
over another?

Q:
If only one
species is
considered the
"fittest", why do
we still have so
many variations
among species

Natural selection

Vide
o

There is _________ within a population and so some

organisms are better _________ to their environment.
There is an __________of offspring which leads to
________ or a struggle for survival.
The better adapted organisms are more likely to survive
and _______
Their offspring are likely to carry these characteristics
through _________of favourable genes.
Over time this leads to the process of adaptation, by
which populations become more suited to their
environment over many generations
This is survival of the fittest
Word bank: inheritance,
competition, breed

over

production,

adapted,

variation,

Natural selection
There is variation within a population and so some
organisms are better adapted to their environment.
There is an over-production of offspring which leads to
competition or a struggle for survival.
The better adapted organisms are more likely to survive
and breed
Their offspring are likely to carry these characteristics
through inheritance of favourable genes.
Over time this leads to the process of adaptation, by
which populations become more suited to their environment
over many generations
This is survival of the fittest

Mimio

www.theurbn.com/2011/09/synthetic-biology-engineering-life-or-engineering-for-better-life/sytheticbiology/

http://my.opera.com/SleepingJosephine/albums/showpic.dml?
album=1186531&picture=15987761

Topic 18 Variation and Selection

Natural Selection
LO To explain how natural selection leads to evolution
What do all of these have in common?

Examples
Bacteria Resistance (We have covered
this already but lets remind ourselves >)

ural population of bacteria has some that are susceptible and some that are resi

You start taking an antibiotic

nd the susceptible (weak) bacteria die first

ou keep taking the antibiotic, more bacteria die

ntil eventually only the resistant bacteria are left

You stop taking the antibiotic

The resistant bacteria reproduce

The resistant bacteria reproduce

Now there are lots of resistant bacteria

I take the antibiotic again, what happens?

Nothing! All the bacteria are resistant!

What can we do to stop antibiotic resistance spreading?

Antibiotic resistance in bacteria

Some bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics e.g.
penicillin.
1) Variation some strains of bacteria
are resistant and some arent.
Bacterium

2) Competition the non-resistant

bacteria are killed by the antibiotic.
3) Survival of the fittest the
resistant bacteria survive.
4) Passing on of genes resistant
bacteria reproduce; pass on genes
for resistance to their offspring.

Penicillin

5) Population change there are now

more resistant bacteria than
before

KEY WORDS: Population, survival of the fittest, variation,

reproduce, antibiotics, selection pressure, MRSA, heritable
characteristics

Explain how natural selection can lead to

evolution using antibiotic resistance as an
example.

IB Type question (9 marks)

Natural selection review and game

http://www.sciencechannel.com/gam
es-and-interactives/charles-darwingame/

WHA
T
DID
YOU
GET
???

Complete Self Review