Understanding Natural Selection and Adaptation

In this assignment, you will answer questions about how natural selection drives evolution and leads to adaptations in populations over time. Use your knowledge of biology and the concepts we have discussed in class to answer each question clearly and completely.

Read each question carefully and answer in your own words.

Explain in your own words how natural selection can cause a population to evolve over time.

Describe what an adaptation is and give one example of an adaptation in a living organism.

Why is variation within a population important for natural selection to occur?

Suppose a population of rabbits lives in a snowy environment. Over time, more rabbits with white fur survive and have offspring. Explain how this is an example of natural selection leading to adaptation.