see Name: Date: Student Exploration: Natural Selection [EBERT biological evolution, camouflage, Industrial Revolution, lichen, morph, natural selection, peppered moth Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.) ria) is a common moth found in Europe, Asia, and North ‘America. It is commonly found in two forms, or HISEBAE: 2 dark morph and alight, speckled morph. Birds are a frequent predator of the peppered moth. |. Which morph do you think would be easier to see on a dark tree trunk? Lightimoths 2. Which morph do you think would be easier to see on a light tree trunk? Dark moths Gizmo Warm-up The Natural Selection Gizmo™ allows you to play the role of a bird feeding on peppered moths. The initial population of How many moths can you find? 40 moths is scattered over 20 tree trunks. Click on moths to capture them. Click the Next tree button (or the spacebar (on your keyboard) to advance to the next tree. 1. Check that LIGHT TREES is selected. Click Play ( >|), and hunt moths for one year. A. How many dark moths did you capture? 3 B. How many light moths did you capture? 3CC. EESTGRFTEHBEs coloring or pattems that help an organism to blend in with the background. Which type of moth is better camouflaged on light bark? Light mothe 2. Ifa forest contained mostly light-colored trees, whi type of moth would you expect to be most common’ Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready: © Click Reset ( > ). Ught trees, ‘© Check that the LIGHT TREES tab is selected. Introduction: Before the 19" century in England, the air was very clean. The bark on trees was usually light in color. Abundant rowing on tree trunks also lightened their appearance. Question: How does the color of a peppered moth affect survival? 1. Predict: Over time, what will happen to the populations of light and dark moths on light trees? Light moths Increase Dark decreases. 2. Experiment: Click Play and hunt peppered moths on light tree trunks for five years. In each year, try to capture as many moths as you can. Note: You can use the spacebar on your keyboard to quickly advance to the next tree. After § years, select the TABLE tab and record the percentages of each moth type. (Note: The table shows current populations of each moth, not the number of captured moths.) Yes Dark moths Light moths 0 0.50 0.50 7 0.35 0.65 2 0.25 075 3 0.04 0.96 4 0.07 0.93 5 0 100 3. Analyze: What do your results show? AS Upredicted, dark moths decrease while light moths increase,4. Apply: Which type of moth do you think was more common before the 19" century, when most trees were ight in color? ellawing logieI WOUId Say Nght moths! 5. Extend vour thinking: What strategies did you use to hunt for moths? Pattern checking, head shape, clicking randomly. Activity B: Get the Gizmo ready: * Click Reset e Catia * Select the DARK TREES tab. ts Introduction: The 19" century was the time of the England. Most of the new industries used coal for energy, and the air was polluted with black soot. In forests near factories, the soot coated trees and killed lichens. As a result, tree trunks became darker. Question: How did air pollution affect moth populations? 1. Predict: Over time, what will happen to the populations of light and dark moths on dark \rees? Dark moths increase light moths decrease 2. Experiment: Click Play and hunt peppered moths on dark tree trunks for five years, In each year, try to capture as many moths as you can, When you are done, select the TABLE tab and record the percentages of each moth type, Year Dark moths Light moths 0 0.50 0.50 7 0.83 O17 2 0.94 0.06 3 0.95 0.05) 4 0.94 0.06 5 7 0 3. Analyze: What do your results show? |Itis\as V/expected the light mothis decreased While 4. Apply: Which type of moth do you think was more common during the 19" century? Why? Following logic | would say dark moths as they would go better on those darkened trees.Activity B (continued from previous page) 5. Draw conclusions: Natural selection is the process by which favorable traits tend to increase in frequency over time. How does this experiment illustrate natural selection? 6. Think and discuss: Did the changes you observed in the moth Populations result from individual moths changing colors? Or did they occur because the best-hidden moths survived and reproduced, passing on their colors to their offspring? Explain your answer.