Determine if Darwin's theory of natural selection supports or conflicts with each statement below.

Question

Determine if Darwin's theory of natural selection supports or conflicts with each statement below.

CategoryEvolutionary theory supports this statement.

CategoryEvolutionary theory conflicts with this statement.

Possible answers

A tadpole evolves legs so it can leave the water. The tadpole passes on the leg trait to the next generation..

Predators on the ground threaten a male reptile, so it evolves wings to escape predation. It passes on the wing trait to the next generation, shifting the allele frequency in the population.

Cheetahs that run the fastest are most likely to catch prey and survive to reproduction. Fast cheetahs become more common in the population.

Resistant bacteria are more likely to survive a dose of antibiotics, and are therefore more likely to reproduce. The resistance allele will be more common in the next generation.

Answer 1

You can arrive at the answer to this and your other question by making the distinction between evolution and development.

The key point is as follows: evolution only occurs at the population level. An individual does not evolve.

Evolution is defined as a change in allele frequencies between generations.

Individuals containing alleles that confer advantages in their environment are more likely to survive and pass on those alleles to the next generation. Conversely, individuals with deleterious alleles are less likely to survive and pass on those alleles. This will result in a change of allele frequencies meaning that evolution has occurred.

For all of the cases you've listed, consider whether the change is happening to an individual or if a population is going to change based on the presence of a beneficial trait.