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This tutorial/simulation consists of three topics. In topic 1, students follow Darwin on a virtual field trip around the world in order to debunk three common misconceptions about natural selection. Students will: 1) complete interactive explorations of each misconception and explain that: a) fitness involves survival and reproduction, not just survival, b) selection is not random, and c) populations, not individuals, evolve; and 2) construct a definition of natural selection. In topic 2, Students play an interactive game, “Fitness Fever” to learn the underlying genetic variation that natural selection acts upon. Students will: 1) learn about three single-locus traits known to be acted on by natural selection in animals, plants and bacteria; 2) rate the fitness of genotypes given an environmental context; and 3) select changes that enhance fitness of an organism. In topic 3, students play the role of predators on moths on a tree trunk. Then, they play the role of biologist, analyzing the changing gene frequencies of the moth population and determining if the population evolved over three generations. Students will: 1) collect data by “eating” moths; 2) calculate gene frequencies for each phenotype over three generations; 3) interpret graphs of data their data to determine if microevolution occurred; and 4) explain how selection acts on populations.
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