[go: up one dir, main page]
Scribd
Upload
531 views6 pages

Peppered Moth Lab - With Data Provided

This document describes a lab simulation on how natural selection can cause changes in populations over time using peppered moths as an example. Students will graph data on the number of light and dark moths captured on light and dark backgrounds over multiple generations to model how a population adapts. The background color of tree trunks in Manchester, England changed from light to dark due to pollution during the industrial revolution, causing the proportion of dark peppered moths to increase over 45 years as the dark variety had better camouflage on the new dark tree trunks.

Uploaded by

Coryman TV
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
531 views6 pages

Peppered Moth Lab - With Data Provided

This document describes a lab simulation on how natural selection can cause changes in populations over time using peppered moths as an example. Students will graph data on the number of light and dark moths captured on light and dark backgrounds over multiple generations to model how a population adapts. The background color of tree trunks in Manchester, England changed from light to dark due to pollution during the industrial revolution, causing the proportion of dark peppered moths to increase over 45 years as the dark variety had better camouflage on the new dark tree trunks.

Uploaded by

Coryman TV
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 6

Moth Lab

Name: ___________________________________________
Investigation: How Can Evolution be Modeled? (Peppered Moth Simulation)
NOTE: If you do not have your signed lab contract turned into me or a Chromebook to use to
collect your own data, the best grade you can get is a BASIC.
Objectives:
Describe the importance of coloration in avoiding predation.
Relate environmental change to changes in organisms.
Explain how natural selection causes populations to change.
Success Criteria
We will know we are successful when we can describe how directional selection works, why
directional natural selection happens, we can predict what the habitat was like based on the
data, and we can graph the data we collected.

Materials

 Worksheet
 Pencil
Purpose
In this lab, you will simulate how predators locate prey in different environments. You will
analyze how color affects and organism's ability to survive in certain environments.
Industrial Melanism is a term used to describe the adaptation of a population in response to
pollution. One example of rapid industrial melanism occurred in populations of peppered moths
in the area of Manchester, England from 1845 to 1890. Before the industrial revolution, the
trunks of the trees in the forest around Manchester were light grayish-green due to the presence
of lichens. Most of the peppered moths in the area were light colored with dark spots. As the
industrial revolution progressed, the tree trunks became covered with soot and turned dark.
Over a period of 45 years, the dark variety of the peppered moth became more common.
Moth Lab

Procedure.
1. Using the data provided, graph the data and answer the following questions.
a. On the graph paper, graph the number of moths captured against each
background. Plot the generations on the X-axis, and the number of moths
captured on the Y axis. Make one graph for the LIGHT and 1 graph for the
DARK. Each graph should have two lines, one line for the light moths captured
and one line for the dark moths captured.

Populations Starting on the LIGHT trees Populations Starting on the DARK trees

Number of Starting Number of


Starting
moths Population moths captured
Population
captured
Generation Dark Light Dark Light
Generation Dark Light Dark Light
1 20 20 3 5
1 20 20 6 0
2 21 19 5 10
2 16 24 4 1
3 26 14 4 5
3 14 26 3 4
4 28 12 4 3
4 13 27 3 11
5 29 11 5 8
5 15 25 10 15
Analysis
1. Describe how the population of moths changed in each generation for both the light and the
dark moths.

2. What moth coloration is the best adaptation for a dark background? How do you know?

3. What moth coloration is the best adaptation for a light background? How do you know?
Moth Lab

4. How does the data model natural selection?

5. Why type of natural selection is this an example of?


Moth Lab

6. Examine the table and construct a graph. Plot the years of the study on the X-axis, and the
number of moths captured on the Y axis. You should have 2 lines on your graph - one for
light moths, and one for dark moths. Explain in your own words what the graph shows.

Year # of Light Moths Captured # of Dark Moths Captured

2 537 112

3 484 198

4 392 210

5 246 281

6 225 337

7 193 412

8 147 503

9 84 550

10 56 599

7. What type of environment do you think these moths live in?


Moth Lab
Moth Lab

You might also like