Natural Selection Lab- PhET Simulation

Pre-Lab Questions
1. What variables can you influence in this lab?
Environments, tail, fur color, traits
2. Define what a genetic mutation is. How do genetic mutations happen? How often?
Genetic mutation is when the species changes its body to adapt to the environment that
fit them the most
3. What do the terms fitness and adaptation mean? What is the difference between the two?
Fitness is when you can survive in the environment, adaptation is the way that you make
bond with the environment
4. What selection factors might effect an animal population besides the ones used in this lab?
Wolves that eats rabbits,
Designing The Experiment
In this Lab you will be controlling the mutations and environment of a population of rabbits. Your
will create four hypotheses and design an experiment to test each one. Your hypothesis will
follow the format where you fill in the (...) with your own ideas and reasons.
I hypothesize that the brown rabbit will more likely to survive to equator because the
environment around the rabbit has a similar color that they can camouflage.
And I hypothesize that the that have long tail cannot survive under the equator environment
because it is easier for other animal to find them.

***You must make at least one hypothesis for each of the three different types of phenotype
mutations***

For each experiment you must have a control (no mutation) and fill in the following chart

Experiment
and
Hypothesis

Pheno
type

Selective
Factor

CONTROL
Group
Initial
Population
at F3

CONTROL
Group
Final
Population

Experment
Group
Initial
Population
at F3

Experiment
Group
Final
Population

Conclusion/
Observation

White fur
rabbits
less likely
to survive
with
wolves in
the
equator

brow
n

Wolve
s

30

15

61

The population
of the white fur
rabbits is
decreasing
because it is
very visible to
the wolves and
makes them
easier to be
eaten by the
wolves.

White fur
rabbits
more
likely to
survive
with
wolves in
arctic

brow
n

Wolve
s

35

353

21

The population
of rabbits with
long teeth is
increasing
because they
are able to eat
more food than
the rabbits with
the short teeth.

Long
teeth
rabbits
likely to
survive
with food
in
equator

Long
teeth

food

13

23

33

85

The population
of rabbits with
white fur is
increasing
because they
have the same
color so that
they can easily
blend with the
environment
that makes
them harder to
be eaten by the
predators.

Short
teeth
rabbits
will more
likely to
survive
with food
in arctic

Long
teeth

Food

110

14

47

140

The population
of rabbits with
short teeth si
decreasing
because theyre
unable to eat
type of food like
the rabbits with
the long teeth.

For each of the experiments, begin by adding a friend and a mutation. Wait until the F3
generation before adding the selective factor. After adding the selective factor let the
simulation run for another 3 or 4 generations.
Use the population numbers from the chart to get you numbers for the table, remember
you can zoom in and out on the chart to get more accurate reads.
Repeat for experiments 2, 3 and 4
Post-Lab Questions
1. Based upon your evidence from the simulation what conclusion are you able to make
about each of the three different types of phenotypes in rabbits?
According to the simulation results, I can conclude that each phenotype has their own
plus and minus, and it depends on the environments and it selective factors. Also, each
phenotype is able to survive longer than the others when they meet the most fitted
condition. After many generations, the phenotype of one rabbit is able to change

2. What happens to animals that cannot compete as well with other animals in the wild?
Due to the inability, the population will eventually gone extinct as they are forced to
change their food sources, habitat, and adaptation to develop their fitness.

3. Sometimes animals that are introduced into an area that they never lived in before, outcompete and endanger resident species, why do you think this happens?
It happens because the species is not living as they were before. There is a change of
predators on the new area, therefore, there is a competition leaving them with low
number of resources and causes them to be endangered in the end.

4. If only one species is considered the "fittest", why do we still have so many variations
among species. Why do some birds have very long pointy beaks, while other birds have
short flat beaks?
Darwin made a point that there is no such thing as fittest species. However, variety can
be found in the traits of an organism in a population. That makes an individual in the
same environment, some individuals will survive and adapt better than the others
because they have a certain traits that fits well with the environment and their own
characteristics.

5. How do you think diseases can affect natural selection?

Survival of one individual rely in the status of the fittest. If a disease strikes, then it
means it may cause the species to create a resistance and alter itself to survive.
Individuals with resistance will more likely to survive and create more offspring healthily,
mean while others will be unfortunate.

6. How does this simulation mimic natural selection? In what ways does this simulation fail to
represent the process of natural selection?

It mimics the natural selection since us how organisms like rabbits live and survive in the
environment and adapt accordingly to their phenotype and selection factors.

Extension- Changing the Dominance and

Recessive Alleles
Take one of the experiments from the lab. Recreate the same
experiment, EXCEPT when you add the mutation EDIT THE
GENES by switching the dominant and recessive allele for that
trait. Make a hypothesis, fill in the chart again and compare the
results to your initial experiment.
Experiment
and
Hypothesis

Pheno
type

Selective
Factor

CONTROL
Group
Initial
Population
at F3

Rabbits
with
white fur
will less
likely to
survive
with
wolves in
the
equator.

brow
n

wolves 57

CONTROL
Group
Final
Population

Experment
Group
Initial
Population
at F3

Experiment
Group
Final
Population

Conclusion/
Observation

10

From the
number, we
can conclude
that rabbits with
brown fur were
gone extinct as
its a recessive
allele.

1. Did switching the alleles for dominant and recessive have any impact on the population of
rabbits? If so Why? In nothing changed Why not?
No, because rabbits with brown fur will more likely to survive more even though their
population was very little in the beginning. Nevertheless, rabbits with white fur were gone
extinct, because they were more visible to the predators in the equator. In the end
rabbits with brown fur increases their population overtime.

2. Two parent rabbits are both heterozygous for the trait. Create Punnet squares for the
original experiment and the new experiment (with the changed alleles). What are the
phenotype ratios of the Punnet squares? Does this evidence support your finding? and
how?

Punnett squares of both the original and new experiment shows a phenotype ratio of 3:1.
The ratio of the original brown furred rabbits is 75% and white furred rabbits is 25% that
makes a difference on it. In the new experiment, the ratio of white furred rabbits is 75%
meanwhile brown furred rabbits is 25%.

3. If this new experiment were to run longer would the end result be the same or different
from the original experiment?
If the experiment continues to go the way it is, I believe that it would be the same as the
original.

Extension- Working with PedigreesSwitch from the population chart to the pedigree
chart
Begin by adding a friend and a mutation. Wait until
the F5 generation. Copy the Pedigree for two
rabbits (described below) using the key. Assume
that male rabbits are on the left and female rabbits
are on the right.

Find these two rabbits, make sure they have at least four generations:
1. Select a rabbit that has the mutation.
2. Select a rabbit without the mutation but with parents or grandparent with the mutation.
Answer the following questions:
1. How could using a pedigree be helpful?
The pedigree is a tool that can show the history of the offsprings parents, grandparents,
and more to the hierarchy of the family.

2. What does it mean to have a yellow triangle above the rabbit?

Yellow triangle means mutation occurs on the animal. In this case, is the rabbit.

3. What does it mean when a rabbit has a red X over it?

Red X mean the rabbit gone extinct or died.

4. How accurate are the pedigrees used in this lab? Did each couple only have one baby?
On a scale to 1-4, it will be a 3 on how accurate it is. Since the couple only have one
baby whilst in reality, rabbits often have multiple babies.