Choose the Best Explanation

This formative assessment reviews key concepts from the last two modules, helping to solidify the connections between gene variations, trait variations, and reproductive success.

• Before students begin, you may want to take some time to walk through what an explanation is, as described at the top of the pdf.
• Note: The Observations, Explanations, or both can be cut out to make cards that students can physically rearrange.
• Choose one Observation and discuss what’s going on at the level of genes, traits, and inheritance. This should help students synthesize the concepts in the first two modules.

Here we are still comparing reproductive success among individuals in a population, not between different species or differing reproductive strategies.

• Some traits make an individual more successful at reproducing than others.
• During sexual reproduction, allele shuffling generates offspring with nearly endless trait variations.
• Mutations are DNA copying errors during reproduction that create differences in genes.
• Only trait variations influenced by genes can be passed to offspring; trait variations due to the environment are not passed to offspring.

Copies

Choose the Best Explanation (pdf) — Make one per student.