Natural Selection Marshmallow Lab Report

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Included in this attachment is the followingNatural Selection MarshmallowsCladogram Notes

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Name:___________________________________________________ Date:___________ Period:__________
Natural Selection Marshmallow Lab
In this activity, you will see how traits can affect the success of an organism in a
particular environment.
Procedure:
1) Count out 10 colored marshmallows and 10 white marshmallows.
2) Ask your partner to look away while you spread the marshmallows. Now, ask
your partner to turn around and pick the first marshmallow that he or she sees.
Record your results in the table below.
3) Repeat Step 2 ten times. Record your results in the table below.
MARSHMALLOW RESULTS
PARTNER 1
Attempt
Color of
marshmallow
Attempt
Color of
marshmallow
PARTNER 2
Attempt
Color of
marshmallow
Attempt
Color of
marshmallow
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
4) How many white marshmallows did your partner pick? How many colored
marshmallows did he or she pick?
a. Total of white
marshmallows:_____________________________________
b. Total of colored
marshmallows:___________________________________
5) What did the marshmallows and the white paper represent in your
investigation? ______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
6) What effect did the color of the paper have on your selection? ______________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
© Bearcat Science
Name:___________________________________________________ Date:___________ Period:__________
7) When an organism blends into its environment, the organism is camouflaged.
How does this activity model camouflaged organisms in the wild? ____________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
8) What are some weaknesses of this model? _______________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Lab Quiz
1) The theory of natural selection means that what is changing over time?
a. The inherited traits of a population
b. The acquired traits of a population
2) Why are advantageous traits more likely to be passed onto their offspring?
a. Because they come from recessive alleles
b. Because they are ore likely to survive and reproduce
c. Because the trait is an acquired phenotype
d. Because they come from dominant alleles
3) What word describes a trait that helps an organism survive in its
environment?
a. Natural Selection
b. Adaptation
4) Which organisms are most likely to survive?
a. The best adapted
c. The Strongest
b. The fastest
d. The most tamed
5) Do organisms “decide” to evolve and change?
a. Yes, they know they need to change to survive
b. No, they change because of natural selection
6) Which of the following is not a behavior?
a. Migration
b. Hibernation
c. Extinction
7) Polar bears have compact ears, a small tail, and thick fur to keep themselves
warm. Are these examples of physical adaptations or behavioral
adaptations?
a. Physical
b. Behavioral
8) Lions often hide in the tall grass while stalking their prey. This is an example
of…
a. Camouflage
c. Survival of the fittest
b. Migration
d. Hibernation
© Bearcat Science
Notes over Cladograms
A cladogram is a diagram that shows the evolutionary relationships among a group of organisms and is a
useful tool that helps scientists understand how one group of organisms branched from another during the
course of evolution.
Here is an example of a cladogram.
Notice how characteristics such as “jaws” and
“fur” appear at certain locations along the
branches of the cladogram.
These locations are the points at which these
characteristics first arose.
You can see that lizards, birds, mice, and
chimps share claws or nails, while
salamanders, perch and hagfish do not have
this characteristic.
Quick Lab: Constructing a Cladogram
Purpose to create a cladogram for a group of organisms
Procedure
1. Identify the organism in the table that is least closely related to the others.
(Look for the organism that lacks at least one characteristic that all of the other organisms share.)
Ex. In the cladogram above, the hagfish does not have jaws, while all of the other organisms do.
This means that the hagfish is the least related to the other organisms.
2. The organism identified in step 1 should be the first branch off of the main “line” of your cladogram.
Draw your cladogram on a separate sheet of paper!
Ex. In the cladogram on the previous page, the hagfish is the first branch off the cladogram.
3. Write in the trait that the organism does not share on the main line of the cladogram, following the
branch for your organism.
Ex. In the cladogram on the previous page, “jaws” is written on the main line, following the branch
for the hagfish, because the hagfish does not have jaws.
4. Use the information in the table to complete the cladogram of these animals.
Data Table
Use this area to complete your cladeogram
Analyze and Conclude – Answer in complete sentences.
1. What trait separates the least closely related organism from the other animals?
2. Does your cladogram indicate that lizards and humans share a more recent common ancestor than either
does with an earthworm? Explain. Your explanation should include the characteristics that a common ancestor
of lizards and humans would have.
3. If you added a frog to your cladogram, where would you put it? Explain.
4. If you added a dog to your cladogram, where would you put it? Explain.

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Explanation & Answer:
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Organism

NATURAL SELECTION

Marshmallows

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