AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -For example, evolving long necks has enabled giraffes to feed on leaves that others can’t reach, giving them a competitive advantage. Thanks to a better food source, those with longer necks were able to survive to reproduce and so pass on the characteristic to the succeeding generation.

Detailed explanation-2: -Differential reproduction is a process of favoring survival and reproduction of the fittest individuals in a population; individuals with favorable characteristics have a more competitive advantage and are more likely to pass their genes on to the next generation.

Detailed explanation-3: -Individuals with adaptive traits-traits that give them some advantage-are more likely to survive and reproduce. These individuals then pass the adaptive traits on to their offspring. Over time, these advantageous traits become more common in the population.

Detailed explanation-4: -Evolution by natural selection is the inevitable consequence of three simple conditions: variation, inheritance, and differential reproductive success. Natural selection does not act directly on genotypes: It operates on phenotypic differences among the individuals in a population.