AP BIOLOGY

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EVOLUTION

DARWIN’S THEORY OF NATURAL SELECTION

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
A population of mosquitoes is sprayed with a new insecticide. Most of the mosquitoes are killed but a few survive. In the next generation, the spraying continues, but still more mosquitoes hatch that are unaffected by the insecticide. Which of the following best explains these results?
A
The insecticide caused a mutation in the genes of the immune mosquitoes
B
The mosquitoes learned how to fight the insecticide
C
A few mosquitoes in the first population were immune and passed this trait to their offspring
D
The insecticide caused the mosquitoes to develop an immune response that was inherited
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -Which of the following outcomes would you predict for a population of mosquitoes exposed to a new pesticide? Over several generations, the mosquitoes would become resistant to the pesticide.

Detailed explanation-2: -Why can evolution in mosquitoes be more easily observed than evolution in a population of squirrels? Mosquitoes have a shorter generation time.

Detailed explanation-3: -Some mosquitoes were adapted to the climatic change that occurred over the several-month period of spraying. All of the mosquitoes contained DNA unique to the species. The spraying of the insecticide represented a change in the environment to which all adult mosquitoes were adapted.

Detailed explanation-4: -Natural selection is considered the main mechanism that causes populations to evolve. However, there are several other mechanisms of evolution, including mutation, genetic drift, and gene flow.

There is 1 question to complete.
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