Natural Selection Simulation

 

Welcome!
Class will explore the exciting world of Natural Selection using an online interactive simulation by PhET.
This activity will help students understand how animals adapt to their environment over time.

What Students Will Do:

Control a population of rabbits.

Change the environment, add predators, introduce mutations, and observe how these changes affect the rabbit population over time.

Observe how some rabbits survive and reproduce better than others depending on their traits (such as fur color).

What Students Will Learn:

How adaptations help animals survive.

What happens when the environment changes.

How natural selection can change a population.

How mutations (like fur color or horned rabbits) affect survival.

How to Play:

1. Open the Simulation → https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/natural-selection/latest/natural-selection_all.html
2. Choose the Environment Settings: Pick the background (summer, winter, etc.).
3. Add Predators (such as wolves) to hunt rabbits.
4. Add Mutations (such as brown fur, floppy ears, or horns).
5. Observe what happens to the rabbit population over time.
6. Try different combinations and notice how the traits affect survival.

 Things to Think About While Playing:

Which rabbit traits help survival better?

What happens if the environment changes to snow?

How do mutations change which rabbits survive?

What would happen if there were no predators?

Important Reminder:

Natural Selection is nature's way of "choosing" which traits are best for survival.
In this game, students will observe how even small changes can have a big effect on a population over time.

Reflection Questions:

After completing the Natural Selection simulation, answer the following:

1. Which rabbit traits helped the population survive best in the environment?
(Explain why those traits were helpful.)

2. How did the addition of predators or changes in the environment affect the rabbit population?
(Give one example.)

3. If a new mutation appeared (such as horns or floppy ears), how did it affect the survival chances of the rabbits?
(Was it helpful, harmful, or neutral?)