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Candy Dish Selection
This demonstration of natural selection has students select candies from a bowl, giving them an opportunity to think about what traits brought about the survival of some candies. After this activity, students will realize that not every feature of an organism is an adaptation, but features often reflect their evolutionary history. Adaptations often persist in a population because they are in some way advantageous and are preserved in a population by natural selection, and depending on environmental conditions, inherited characteristics may be advantageous, neutral, or detrimental. The students also learn that although random factors affect the survival of individuals and of populations, natural selection acts on individuals and populations in a nonrandom way. This site contains a list of materials and all of the information required to complete this activity.
Intended for grade levels:
  • High (9-12)
Type of resource:
  • For the classroom:
    • Presentation / Demo
Subject:
  • Biology
  • Geological Sciences:
    • Paleontology
Technical requirements:
No specific technical requirements, just a browser required
Cost / Copyright:
No cost
Copyright 1994-2004 by the Regents of the University of California, all rights reserved. All materials appearing on the UCMP Web Servers may not be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without prior written permission of the publisher and in no case for profit.
DLESE Catalog ID: DLESE-000-000-005-642
Educational standards:
  • National Science Education Standards (NSES):
    • 9-12:
      • Unifying concepts and processes:
        • Evidence, models, and explanation
      • C - Life science:
        • Biological evolution
Resource contact / Creator / Publisher:
Publisher: University of California Museum of Paleontology