Which of the following situations best shows Darwin’s theory of natural selectio

Question

Which of the following situations best shows Darwin’s theory of natural selection as a mechanism for evolution?

A. The long neck of a giraffe is the result of its ancestor continually reaching for higher branches.

B. The ancestor of the snake had its legs bitten off by a predator, thus all of its offspring had no legs.

C. A long, thin-beaked bird can reach nectar in a flower that other birds cannot, so it survives and breeds offspring that also have long, thin beaks.

D. During his lifetime, a man works out and gets increasingly large muscles. Thus, all of his offspring will be born with strong muscles as well

Explanation / Answer

Here option B and D are ruled out straight forward as these options have nothing to do with evolution as we know evolution occurs in a population not in individuals so characters acquired or lost by an individual cannot be passed to next generation since they are non-heritable.

According to Lamarks theory of evolution evolution occcurs in individuals and new characters are produced when recquired by an individual. He gave example of an giraffe who has to eat leaves of plants that are high on branches. In order to eat them ,Giraffe has to stretch his neck and while doing this over a long time,, the result is todays giraffe. This theory was disarded later as it had many drawbacks.

Option C is correct explanation for natural slection as long thin beak is an acquired character which gives acess to nectar to these birds. Since these birds have evolved separately as subpopulation, they have reduced competetion for food and thin long beak iis a result of natural slection.

Hope you got the answer,will love to get your feedback.

Thanks  

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse W
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.