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Darwin's Finch Lab Investigation

Melody·

Natural Selection

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At a Glance

Grade Level9th Grade

SubjectNatural Selection

Original Prompt

HS-LS4-3. (natural selection and speciation) Students will be engaging in Darwin's Finch Lab Investigation. There will be 4 beak types and 2 food types. The first part of the investigation students will focus on one food and after each round the losing beak will dye and the winning beak will reproduce. After 4 rounds of that, there will be an environmental impact that changes the type of food available, that's when the second round will begin. -Include vocabulary, appropriate tables for the inv...

This resource outlines a hands-on activity where students simulate the concept of natural selection through the adaptation of finch beaks to environmental changes. The learning objective highlights the application of statistics and probability to explain how advantageous heritable traits can affect population dynamics. Students role-play as different finch types, competing for limited food resources over several rounds, allowing them to observe how different beak types thrive or decline based on environmental conditions. The simulation is reinforced by discussions on concepts of fitness, adaptation, and speciation, along with criteria for success and reflection on the significance of their findings in relation to Darwin’s theory of evolution.