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9th grade · Science · Unit 5 of 28

Evolution & Selection

Variation, adaptation and how populations change over time.

What your child practices

Practices variation, adaptation, natural and artificial selection, mutations, the evidence for evolution from fossils and rock layers, and how new species can form.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: HS-LS4-1; HS-LS4-2; HS-LS4-4; HS-LS4-5 · natural selection and adaptation, evidence for evolution from fossils and body structures, and how changing environments lead to new species

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Variation and mutations give individuals different traits. Adaptations help them survive where they live.
  2. Natural selection lets well-suited individuals reproduce more; in artificial selection, people choose.
  3. Fossils and rock layers show life changed over time, starting with single-celled organisms.

Example: A cactus stores water in its thick stem. This is an adaptation to what? Storing water helps when rain is rare. Answer: dry climates

Evolution & Selection in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 5 of 28 in 9th grade Science, after Human Reproductive System and before Atoms & Electrons.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Bacteria can become resistant to antibiotics when…

    • the drug creates new bacteria
    • some bacteria survive the drug and multiply
    • all bacteria change on purpose

  2. Question 2

    Thick fur in an arctic fox is an adaptation for…

    • swimming in the ocean
    • climbing trees
    • staying warm in cold climates

  3. Question 3

    If a climate becomes colder, the selective pressures on a population of animals will…

    • stay exactly the same
    • disappear
    • change

  4. Question 4

    Artificial selection occurs when…

    • predators choose prey
    • wind chooses seeds
    • humans choose which organisms reproduce

  5. Question 5

    A trait that helps an organism survive and reproduce in its environment is called an…

    • mutation only
    • accident
    • adaptation

  6. Question 6

    Peppered moths became darker near polluted, sooty cities because…

    • darker moths were less visible to birds and survived more often
    • pollution painted them
    • moths wished to change color

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