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A positive natural selection might occur for a variation which led to a grass dwelling beetle to be coloured green.

Biology - Natural Selection (AQA)

Natural selection explains how some individuals survive and reproduce better than others. In this GCSE Biology quiz you apply the theory to real examples and exam-style questions.

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Fascinating Fact:

The classic case is the peppered moth. Soot made dark moths harder to spot, so they were favoured, then the trend reversed as air cleaned.

In GCSE Biology (AQA), you learn how natural selection links variation, competition and survival. You also explore how changing environments can shift which characteristics are favoured in a population.

Key Terms

Natural selection: When individuals with advantageous characteristics survive and reproduce more, passing their alleles to the next generation.
Adaptation: A characteristic that makes an organism better suited to its environment.
Selective pressure: Any factor, such as climate or predators, that affects which individuals survive and reproduce.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What is natural selection in GCSE Biology?

In GCSE Biology, natural selection is the process where individuals with characteristics better suited to the environment survive, reproduce and pass on their alleles, gradually changing the population over time.

How does natural selection lead to evolution?

Natural selection leads to evolution because advantageous alleles become more common generation by generation. As these genetic changes build up, the population can become noticeably different from its ancestors.

What factors can influence natural selection in a population?

Factors include environmental change, availability of food, presence of predators, disease and competition for resources. These all affect which characteristics give organisms the best chance of survival and reproduction.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

Fossils have been used to support Darwin's ideas. Fossils of which of the following animals are often used?

Horse

Dog

Cat

Rabbit

The evolution of the horse from a creature the size of a dog to the animal we know today, is often used to support the theory because there are lots of fossils for each stage of the process

2 .

What might happen to an individual that is not well suited to its environment?

It could die before it has had the chance to reproduce and its genes will not be passed on

It will be helped by other animals of the same species

It will learn to be successful and pass on its genes to the next generation

A hunter will catch and eat it

A poorly adapted individual will be unable to compete successfully for the resources it needs. Over time, genes that make a plant or animal will be lost from the gene pool of that particular population, leaving only the best adapted plants or animals

3 .

The structural similarities between the flippers of whales and the arms of humans are used to show what?

The human species began life in the oceans

Humans and whales have a common ancestry

Whales are older than the human species

Whales evolved from the human species

Comparing structural similarities is scientifically called comparative anatomy. The closer the similarity, the closer the link and the more recently they shared a common ancestor

4 .

Darwin's theory of evolution was based on what?

The disuse of body structures

The transmission of acquired characteristics

Natural selection

Mutagenic agents (things that cause mutations) in the environment

Disuse of body structures and acquired characteristics are key points of Lamarck's theory of evolution, which is generally regarded as being incorrect now. Mutagenic agents increase the rate of variation but there was no knowledge of these at the time of Darwin so he could not have based his theory on this idea

5 .

Why is there always variation in any population?

Half of the genes come from the mother and half from the father

Genes are all changed during sexual reproduction

Cosmic radiation damages genes in the sperm and egg cells

Because of natural selection

The combination of the genes passed on from each parent is random which means every individual of a species will be different

6 .

Variation in a population of dark brown beetles in a public park creates a green version. In which of the following situations would a positive natural selection be most likely to occur?

On a park bench

On trees with light coloured bark

The beetles live entirely on the grass

The beetles live on the grass but find their food on the paths

In three of the situations the beetles could be crushed by people sitting or standing on them but that's not what the question is about. They would be camouflaged better on the grass than the black ones so they would be less likely to be spotted by predators. Because of this they would have more offspring and pass on the green gene to the next generation

7 .

Darwin's ideas were not well recieved when he published them in 1859. Which of the following is a reason why?

He was not a trained scientist so other scientists would not believe him

He had upset the top scientists of the time so they persuaded everyone that his theory was rubbish to get their revenge

His book was so boring that no-one was able to read it

His ideas contradicted religious ideas about the Creation

As well as religious reasons, there was insufficient scientific evidence at the time and a knowledge of genetics and inheritance did not come until about 50 years later

8 .

The example of dark peppered moths living in or near to British industrial cities following the Industrial Revolution, whilst light ones live in the countryside, shows what?

A change in an environment can result in the evolution of species living there

Evolution occurs so slowly that it is not possible to determine that it has happened in less than a million years

The environment in or near these cities has always favored dark coloured moths

There is a better supply of food for dark moths in cities

The dark moths are better camouflaged on trees made dirty by the Industrial Revolution, fewer are eaten by predators and so natural selecton here favours the dark version of the moth. The opposite applies to the countryside

9 .

Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection failed to explain which of the following options?

There is less variation in a population every generation

New genetic varieties can appear in a population every generation

Populations of similar species could live in the same habitat

None of the above

This question tests if you realise that genetics was unknown at the time of Darwin. His theory could describe evolution but could not explain it in terms of genetics therefore the second option is the correct answer as it includes the word genetics. It also tests if you know that there is more variation in a population as time progresses unless you are dealing with a critically endangered species where fewer and fewer individuals are produced each year

10 .

A variation in a plant creates a variety that has seed pods that 'explode' when touched by an animal. How could this lead to natural selection of this characteristic?

The seeds would be scattered further from the plant

The animals like the feeling and will brush past the plant more, scattering more seeds

The seeds fly through the air which activates more of them

The seeds fly higher and when they hit the ground, they go in further meaning more will grow

This question is testing if you know two things - plants need space to grow and natural selection. Spreading the seeds out further will reduce competition for space to grow. Reduced competition would mean the plants are more successful and the 'exploding seed pod' characteristic is passed on

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Evolution - AQA

Author: Kev Woodward (PGCE, Science & Chemistry Teacher, Quiz Writer)