Natural selection

• What is natural selection?

  The process of inherited characteristics changing
• How does the environment influence natural selection?

  It determines breeding success of individuals
• What causes differences in DNA base sequences?

  Mutations
• What is the result of variation in a population?

  Differences in appearance, behavior, or function
• What is the significance of competitive advantages in natural selection?

  They allow individuals to out-compete rivals
• What does "survival of the fittest" mean in the context of natural selection?

  Those best suited to the environment survive
• What happens to those that survive in natural selection?

  They reproduce
• What occurs to advantageous alleles in a population?

  They are passed on to the next generation
• What are the key steps in the process of natural selection?

  1. Mutations cause DNA differences
  2. Variation leads to differences in traits
  3. Competitive advantages allow out-competing for resources
  4. Survival of the fittest occurs
  5. Survivors reproduce
  6. Advantageous alleles are passed on