In five sentences, construct an argument for the claim that natural selection leads to evolution. Provide evidence for this claim, and be sure to explain how an organism shows the four parts of the process of natural selection. You may use any organism with the exception of bacteria and antibiotic resistance.
Natural selection is a key mechanism that drives evolution, as it selects for traits that allow organisms to survive and reproduce in their environment. For example, giraffes with longer necks are more likely to survive and reproduce because they can reach higher leaves for food. This leads to the spread of that trait in the population, which is known as genetic variation. The process of natural selection involves four key steps: variation, heritability, differential reproductive success, and adaptation. For giraffes, this means that the lengthening of necks is passed down to offspring and becomes a trait that is dominant in the population. Over many generations, this can result in significant changes in the population, which is how evolution occurs.
