Investigation #1
Artificial Selection
Just as Darwin relied on artificial selection in domesticated farm animals to make his case in On the Origin of Species, students explore possible advantages or disadvantages that selected traits might confer on individuals in different environmental conditions. Because artificial selection experiments require a relatively large population with ample phenotypic variation, the first step of the investigation is conducted at the class level, and begins with questions that center on artificial selection in agricultural crops and well-known examples of natural selection and evolution, such as antibiotic resistance in bacteria (Big Idea 3). Once students identify the common features of these events (selection, rapid changes in populations, and genetic variations), they design and conduct a selection experiment based on observable traits in Wisconsin Fast Plants growing in the classroom. These quantitative traits include number of trichomes (plant hairs) and plant height.
Pre-Lab
The Investigation
Investigation #1: Artificial Selection | |
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