Natural Selection Lab- PhET Simulation

Pre-Lab Questions
1. What variables can you influence in this lab?
Fur color, long teeth, long tail, put wolves, foods, change climates from arctic and land, add
friends and genetic mutation
2. Define what a genetic mutation is. How do genetic mutations happen? How often?
Genetic mutation is a when a trait is being passed down to offspring due to the environment
adaptation to survive in the environment. It happens when an animal is struggling to survive, by
that they need to adjust physically like brown furs and others. The trait will pass down to the
offspring and will evolve through centuries.
3. What do the terms fitness and adaptation mean? What is the difference between the two?
Fitness is being the best as you can to be able to fit in a community, adaptation is a state where
an animal is struggling to live and they need to change to get into the environment. Both are
different because adaptation is within a long period of time, since fitness is another state of
being fit.
4. What selection factors might effect an animal population besides the ones used in this lab?
Fat content, fur, Long/short ears
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 brown rabbits will be more likely to survive under (type of
selective factor) within the Deserted environment, because Brown rabbits fur are
similar with the main ground color and it will be hard for wolves to hunt rabbit in the
deserted place and can find food easily. Even through white fur rabbit could survive
in the place but they cant survive as long as the other brown fur rabbits due to its
fur color or have difficulties on finding foods.
I hypothesize that White rabbits will be more likely to survive under (type of
selective factor) within the artic environment, because white rabbits fur are similar
with the main ground color and it will be hard for any hunters to hunt rabbit in the
deserted place and can find food easily.

***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

Long tail
survive

Long
tail

food

13

Long tail idoes

not adapt to
equator

Long
teeth will
not
survive

Long
teeth

food

39

15

15

Long teeth is
needed to
survive on the
equator with
food factor

Brown
fur will
survive

Brow
n fur

food

37

2800

17

1400

Both survive a
lot magically,
and overrun the
world with
white on the
lead.

Long tail
will not
survive

Long
tail

Food

38

60

16

12

My hypothesis
is correct, the
long tail
survives less
than short tail.

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?

Long tail could not compete with short tail, brown and white fur is both habitable in the equator
but the white fur leads higher population, and long teeth doesnt compete as well as the short
teeth in the equator.

2. What happens to animals that cannot compete as well with other animals in the wild?
They will die easily and will not survive as long as the other animal

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?
This might happen because animals migrate due to its environment issues

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?
Because they consume different foods and different source of food

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

Mutation and kill almost most population of a species because they do not have variety
6. How does this simulation mimic natural selection? In what ways does this simulation fail to
represent the process of natural selection?
Logicallythebrownfurshouldvesurvivemorethanwhitefurbecausetheycouldcamouflagebutinthe
game,itwasntlikethat

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

CONTROL
Group
Final
Population

Experment
Group
Initial
Population
at F3

Experiment
Group
Final
Population

Conclusion/
Observation

Brown
fur is
recessiv
e which
will have
less
populatio
n

Brow
n fur

food

Brown is extinct
because its
recessive.

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?
There are impact because through the population itself. By seeing it, brown extinct in the
equator due to its recessive traits.

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?
Original : white = d brown = D
Experimental : white = D brown = d
original
D
d
D| D
Dd

experimental
D
d
D| D
Dd

d | Dd
dd
ratio= white: 25%
brown: 75%

d | Dd
dd
ratio= white: 25%
brown: 75%

3. If this new experiment were to run longer would the end result be the same or different
from the original experiment?
Itwouldbedifferentbecausethedominantwillbemorelikelytotakeover

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?
It could draw and analyze species that survive, genetically mutated or species that died

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

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

4. How accurate are the pedigrees used in this lab? Did each couple only have one baby?
It is very accurate, every couple have 2 babies.