Natural Selection Lab- PhET

Simulation
Astrid 10D

Pre-Lab Questions
1. What variables can you influence in this lab?
Fur color, type of teeth, environment, food rabbit population and wolf population
2. Define what a genetic mutation is. How do genetic mutations happen? How often?
Genetic mutation is a phenomenon where the DNA sequence of the offspring is different
with the parents DNA sequence, resulting with the offspring having its own different
characteristic that could be beneficial or disadvantageous. Mutation could happen
anytime, but mutations with visible result do not appear as much and the chances of its
occurrences are very unpredictable, but for certain it occurs in every generation.
Environment could also influence mutations.
3. What do the terms fitness and adaptation mean? What is the difference between the
two?
Adaptation is the process of organism to become better suited with its environment
through changes in the body and way of living. Fitness is when mutated organisms
reproduce itself to the point that their population is close to matching their previous
non-mutated organisms population.
4. What selection factors might effect an animal population besides the ones used in
this lab?

Weather and climate change, because organisms need to adapt to their

environments climate and only the population who can adapt well with the changing
climate will survive better and have larger population. Diseases can also affect the
population of the animal and only those immune to the disease will have larger
population.
Designing The Experiment
In this Lab you will be controlling the mutations and environment of a population of rabbits. Your
will create four hypotheses and design an experiment to test each one. Your hypothesis will
follow the format where you fill in the (...) with your own ideas and reasons.
I hypothesize that (select a rabbit phenotype) rabbits will be (more/ less) likely to
survive under (type of selective factor) within the (select type of environment)
environment, because..... (explain how their trait will help them to survive or not)

***You must make at least one hypothesis for each of the three different types of phenotype
mutations***

For each experiment you must have a control (no mutation) and fill in the following chart
Experiment
and
Hypothesis

Pheno
type

Selective
Factor

CONTROL
Group
Initial
Population
at F3

CONTROL
Group
Final
Population

Experment
Group
Initial
Population
at F3

Experiment
Group
Final
Population

Conclusion/
Observation

I hypothesize that
rabbits with brown
fur will be more
likely to survive
against the wolves
within the equator
environment,
because they could
camouflage better
than the rabbits with
white fur

Fur
color

Wolves

White
rabbits
(13)

White
rabbits (1)

Brown
rabbits (5)

Brown
rabbits (41)

Brown rabbits
survive better in
the equator, while
the white rabbit
survive better in
the arctic
because they
survive better in
environments
where they could
camouflage with
their surrounding
to hide from
predators and get
preys easier

I hypothesize that
rabbits with longer
tail will be less likely
to survive against
the wolves in any
environment
because it will be
harder for them to
jump faster with
longer tails to avoid
the wolves

Tail
length

Wolves

Short
tailed
rabbits
(13)

Short
tailed
rabbits (4)

Long
tailed
rabbits (5)

Long tailed
rabbits (2)

Short tailed
rabbits does not
survive better
and fall prey to
wolf easier
because its hard
for hem to jump
faster with longer
tails, shown by
the fact the
population of
short tailed
rabbits
decreased more

I hypothesize that
rabbits with longer
teeth will be more
likely to survive
under the food
factor in any
environment,
because rabbit with
longer teeth can eat
more type of food
easier

Teeth
length

Food

Short
teeth
rabbit (5)

Short
teeth
rabbit (4)

Long teeth
rabbit (1)

Long teeth
rabbit (14)

Rabbits with
longer teeth
survive better
under the food
factor because
they can eat
more type of food
easier

For each of the experiments, begin by adding a friend and a mutation. Wait until the F3
generation before adding the selective factor. After adding the selective factor let the
simulation run for another 3 or 4 generations.
Use the population numbers from the chart to get you numbers for the table, remember
you can zoom in and out on the chart to get more accurate reads.
Repeat for experiments 2, 3 and 4
Post-Lab Questions
1. Based upon your evidence from the simulation what conclusion are you able to
make about each of the three different types of phenotypes in rabbits?
Rabbits with white fur have a higher chance of survival in the arctic, while rabbits with
brown fur have a higher chance of survival in the equator since they could camouflage
with their environment. Rabbits with short tail have a higher chance of survival in any
type of environment because its easier for them to jump faster with short tail compared
to long tail. Rabbits with longer teeth survive better in any type of environment because
long teeth enable them to eat more type of food easier.
2. What happens to animals that cannot compete as well with other animals in the
wild?
They will lose competition to animals with superior survival ability, so they will either be
eliminated/extinct, or their population will decrease to the point it become smaller than
the population of the animal with superior survival ability.
3. Sometimes animals that are introduced into an area that they never lived in before
out-compete and endanger resident species, why do you think this happens?
Because when the animals moved into a new environment, the predators in the are did
not recognize them as a prey, therefore they could avoid the predators better and ending
up having more population and end up competing for food with the resident species.
They might also bring disease to the environment that only they are immune of.
4. If only one species is considered the "fittest", why do we still have so many
variations among species? Why do some birds have very long pointy beaks, while
other birds have short flat beaks?
Because a species is considered the fittest in their own environment, but variations of
species live in different environments with different conditions. Each variation had their
own superior ability that enables them to survive better in their own environment.

5. How do you think diseases can affect natural selection?

Disease can reduce an organisms population in a certain environment. Its all about
survival of the fittest. Organisms who managed to get immune to the disease will survive
and end up having more population.
6. How does this simulation mimic natural selection? In what ways does this
simulation fail to represent the process of natural selection?
This simulation mimics natural selection by showing us that superior survival ability help
organisms to survive better. However, it also fail to represent natural selection since it is
not accurate and there are some experiment errors that could happen if we suddenly
change the factor, mutation or environment.

Extension- Changing the Dominance and

Recessive Alleles
Take one of the experiments from the lab. Recreate the same
experiment, EXCEPT when you add the mutation EDIT THE
GENES by switching the dominant and recessive allele for that
trait. Make a hypothesis, fill in the chart again and compare the
results to your initial experiment.

Experiment
and
Hypothesis

Pheno
type

Selective
Factor

CONTROL
Group
Initial
Population at
F3

CONTROL
Group
Final
Population

Experment
Group
Initial
Population
at F3

Experiment
Group
Final
Population

Conclusion/
Observation

I hypothesize that
rabbits with a recessive
trait of longer teeth will
be more likely to
survive under the food
factor in any
environment, because
rabbit with longer teeth
can eat more type of
food easier

Teeth
length

Food

Short teeth
rabbit (17)

Short
teeth
rabbit (3)

Long teeth
rabbit (1)

Long teeth
rabbit (4)

Rabbits with
longer teeth still
survive better
under the food
factor despite it
being a
recessive trait,
the only
difference is the
growth rate of
the long teeth
rabbit is slower
since the trait is
recessive

1. Did switching the alleles for dominant and recessive have any impact on the
population of rabbits? If so Why? In nothing changed Why not?
Rabbits with longer teeth still survive better under the food factor despite it being a
recessive trait; the only difference is the growth rate of the long teeth rabbit is slower
since the trait is recessive. Rabbit with longer teeth still has better chance of survival
because long teeth enable them to consume more type of food easily.

2. Two parent rabbits are both heterozygous for the trait. Create Punnet squares for the
original experiment and the new experiment (with the changed alleles). What are
the phenotype ratios of the Punnet squares? Does this evidence support your
finding? and how?
T

TT

Tt

Tt

tt

Phenotype (1st experiment) = 3:1

(With long teeth as the dominant trait and short teeth as the recessive trait)
Phenotype (2nd experiment) = 3:1
(With short teeth as the dominant trait and long teeth as the recessive trait)
This evidence did support our finding since in the first experiment, the long teeth rabbits
growth are more rapid and on the second experiment, the long teeth rabbits growth are
more slower. In the first experiment, indeed there are more long teeth rabbit. However in
the second experiment, suppose there were more short teeth rabbit, but this short teeth
rabbit have less survival ability and therefore their population decrease, making the long
teeth rabbit population become larger than theirs.
3. If this new experiment were to run longer would the end result be the same or
different from the original experiment?
The result of the experiment will still be the same, because as time goes, natural
selection happens and long teeth rabbit have higher chance of survival so their
population will increase and their competitor, the short teeth rabbit, will be lose to the
competition, resulting in the decrease of its population.

Extension- Working with

Pedigrees- Switch from the population chart to
the pedigree chart
Begin by adding a friend and a mutation. Wait until
the F5 generation. Copy the Pedigree for two
rabbits (described below) using the key. Assume
that male rabbits are on the left and female rabbits
are on the right.

Find these two rabbits, make sure they have at least four generations:
1. Select a rabbit that has the mutation.

2. Select a rabbit without the mutation but with parents or grandparent with the mutation.

Answer the following questions:

1. How could using a pedigree be helpful?
Using a pedigree is helpful to predict and trace down trait inheritance over generations,
and help to predict the gene of a specific individual.
2. What does it mean to have a yellow triangle above the rabbit?
It means that the rabbit come from the first generation of the mutation
3. What does it mean when a rabbit has a red X over it?
It means that the rabbit is dead

4. How accurate are the pedigrees used in this lab? Did each couple only have one
baby?
Its not really that accurate because we cant tell for sure some of the brown rabbits gene
is homozygous dominant or heterozygous dominant. Also, there is a chance that the
rabbit could have more than one baby, but in the pedigree, they only have one baby that
shows the highest probability of what their offspring would look like.