Which of the following is NOT a requirement of natural selection?

Question

a) differential reproductive success
b) overproduction of offspring
c) genetic variation
d) inheritance
e) catostropic events

Answer 1

It is E

The reason:
a) Reproductive variations lead to the "better producer" making more offspring and thus leading to more chances for their offspring to reproduce. For this one, think of gorillas...the dominant Male (silverback) will mate with the females so it is his offspring who carry the genetics into the next generation, and the other males in the group dont pass on their genes.

b) There has to be some offspring that simply don't survive...this is the whole "don't interfere and let nature take its course" thing. This means that after the "unhealthy" individuals die, the rest (on average) will be better suited to their environment. Think of it like this... a human family has three babies but one of them dies; the one that died may have had a defect that shouldn't have been passed on. Since the parents had two other babies, they have replaced themselves in the population so there will not be a net loss of population when they eventually die.

c) There has to be variations in the genetics of the offspring. This is due to the fact that for us to become better suited to our environment, there has to be a change in our genetics to produce that change. If we were exactly like our parents, no changes could occur.

d) Inheritance is hugely important. Think about it like this: If a beneficial change develops (such as opposable thumbs), what good would it be if it couldnt be passed on to the next generation? There must be a mechanism to pass the benefit on.

e) Even though there have been many catastrophic events that have allowed for natural selection, it is not required. A large eruption may cause the animals who can eat more diverse variety of plants to do better than ones that can't but they may be able to out-compete the other animals anyway.

Answer 2

The requirements are:
1 Random Mutation (c)
2 Sexual reproduction (d)
3 External forces selecting one attribute over another (a) (b)

Catastrophic events are no a requirement, for evolution as it is somethingg that tends to happen slowly over millions of years. However the meteor crash that destroyed the dinosaurs did have a major effect on evolution for the mammals.

Answer 3

overproduction of offspring i.e.
we (humans) do not need over production

Answer 4

b) overproduction of offspring

Answer 5

the answer E is correct. (catastrophic events) I already check properly.

Answer 6

I think it's "E"
Are we in the same class?

Answer 7

b

Answer 8

B