Week 9 - Methods 1

This week in lab we investigated natural selection and evolution! Darwin's theory of evolution made him the father of evolution. Though he wasn't the first to ever discuss it, his theory was the best. We started lab by reviewing genetics and mutations from last week. Then we discussed our reading reflection 8 within our table groups. As a whole group we discussed what we found and learned from each appendix. We found out pandemics are going to become more frequent so technology will be crucial in our careers. We discussed what strand maps were/looked like and why we don't utilize them as science teachers anymore. Strand maps have been replaced with NGSS. Finally, we got into our investigation activity! The question that we investigated this week was: What natural selection is and how it works.

    For our investigation activity this week, our goal was to demonstrate the process of adaption and selection. We acted as predators searching for prey (beans) with three different traits. We took 300 beans, 100 of each colors. We each had a different beak (type of utensil). We captured as many beans as possible and switched beaks if we got the lowest amount. In the end, my group had three spoon beaks, 42 black beans, 72 white beans, and 91 brown beans. This investigation helped us figure out how predators evolve with natural selection. It also showed an example of how prey adapt with mutations for protection. There are lots of variations of this activity and can be used by multiple grade levels. A remaining question I have after this investigation is has Darwin's theory changed or adapted since it came out?