Natural Selection Lab - PhET Simulation

Pre-Lab Questions
1.

What variables can you influence in this lab?

Mutations (brown fur. long tail and long teeth), genes (fur, tail and teeth), addition of
wolves and foods as well as the environment that the bunnies are living.
2.

Define what a genetic mutation is. How do genetic mutations happen? How

often?
Genetic mutation occurs during the replication of DNA when duplicating cells. It results
to different in traits and characteristics that may be beneficial or disadvantageous for
certain organisms.
3.

What do the terms fitness and adaptation mean? What is the difference between

the two?
Fitness means the capability of an organism to do things. In natural selection, fitness
means the capability of the organism to survive in its condition surrounded
around the
new

environment. Adaptation means the process o an organism to being suitable in a

environment.
4.

What selection factors might effect an animal population besides the ones used

in this lab?
Human activities that may harm the animal's environment and habitat.
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 fur rabbits will be more likely to survive under wolves
within the equator environment, because wolves will see the rabbits with white fur
better under the equator environment. The rabbits with brown fur will have a higher
chance to survive by hiding in several spots in the environment as it camouflage.

I hypothesize that long tail rabbits will be more likely to survive under food within
the arctic environment, because long tail may help them warm the body under the
cold temperature of the arctic environment.
I hypothesize that long teeth rabbits will be more likely to survive under wolves
within the equator environment, because it may help their self defense under
attack.

***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

Pheno

Selective

CONTROL

CONTROL

Experment

Experiment

Conclusion/

and

type

Factor

Group

Group

Group

Group

Observation

Initial

Final

Initial

Final

Population

Population

Population

Population

Hypothesis

at F3
Brown

Wolves

18

at F3

18

30

fur

With brown fur, the

rabbits will have more
chance to survive.

Long

Food

tail

18

18

13

With long tail and

foods, the rabbits will
have more chance to
survive.

Long

teeth

Wolves

18

18

Long teeth in the

rabbits do not help
them to survive in the
wild.

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?

The three different types of phenotypes in rabbits may help them in certain ways. The
brown fur may help them to camouflage from the predators and survive in the wild. The
long teeth may help them easily eat better and the long tails may help them to warm up
their body in the cold temperature. The different phenotypes may help them in certain
ways of characteristics and traits.

2.

What happens to animals that cannot compete as well with other animals in the

wild?
They will have less chance to survive. Other animals that have the advantage of
characteristics and traits to survive in the wild will beat them and decrease their chance
to survive.
3.

Sometimes animals that are introduced into an area that they never lived in

before, out-compete and endanger resident species, why do you think this happens?
Some of the predators and animals hunt the same prey, while one of them may have as
well an advantage characteristics or trait that may help them hunt better. The
advantaged animal will have a better chance to hunt their prey to eat and survive in the
wild. This gap between the advantaged animals may resulted to an out-compete.
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?
Fittest species may be classified as the species that have the high chance to survive in
the wild, though there are some natural selection those effects their physical
appearance. There are some birds with long pointy beaks, or short flat beaks, are the
result to the flowers they feed on. Usually, the beak will adapt to the flower's
5.

How do you think diseases can affect natural selection?

Diseases that passed down may be considered as a disadvantageous trait that

decreases the chance of an organism to survive. The disadvantageous trait may affect in
certain ways, including decreasing their productivity and fitness in their daily life.
6.

How does this simulation mimic natural selection? In what ways does this

simulation fail to represent the process of natural selection?

The simulation simulates how the natural selection happened in the life of the animals. It
shows the mutation that may come up anytime, and the advantages that the natural
selection gives for an animal to survive in the wild. It also features how the mutation
would lasts in various factors and environment that may occur in the animal world. But
the simulation does also fail to represent the process of natural selection by not including
some other factors that may be more significant nowadays.

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

Pheno

Selective

CONTROL

CONTROL

Experment

Experiment

Conclusion/

and

type

Factor

Group

Group

Group

Group

Observation

Initial

Final

Initial

Final

Population

Population

Population

Population

Hypothesis

at F3
Brown

Wolves

fur

at F3

18

18

The white fur rabbits

did not survive that
much, although the
population are far
larger than the brown
furred rabbit being
recessive genes.

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?

The population of white fur rabbits increased a lot, but it does not help them to survive at
all. While the brown fur rabbits will help the survival of rabbits overall, by the fact they
have better chance to survive in the wild.
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 Experiment
(Dominant Allele for Brown Fur)
B

BB

Bb

Bb

bb

BB

Bb

Bb

New Experiment
(Recessive Allele for Brown Fur)

The phenotype ratio for both Punnet squares is 75%, as the parent rabbits are both
heterozygous. The evidence of when the mutation is dominant, the recessive population
will increase drastically. That's why when the mutation of the brown fur rabbit are
dominant, there are more rabbit that survive. Since there are more brown rabbit which
have more chance to survive in the equator, the population of rabbit that survive
is

bigger. When the mutation of the brown fur is recessive, the population of the

rabbits

that survive will be smaller, as there will be more white fur rabbits that have

smaller

chance to survive in the wild.

3.

If this new experiment were to run longer would the end result be the same or

different from the original experiment?

The population of the brown furred rabbits will take over the rabbits species, as the white
furred rabbits will be consumed by the wolves.

Extension- Working with Pedigrees- Switch 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?

Pedigree may help by providing the information of how the genetic information of an
organism passed down to every generation. This is helpful to overview the allele of an
organism and determines the outcome of the next generations.
2.

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

They are the first to be mutated of the brown fur trait.

3.

What does it mean when a rabbit has a red X over it?

The rabbit has died from being consumed by the wolves.

4.

How accurate are the pedigrees used in this lab? Did each couple only have one

baby?
Each couple of rabbit had only one baby, it is not accurate. A family or couple may have more
than one baby.