Natural Selection

3. – An animal that hunts and eats other animals.
7. – Describes traits passed from parents to offspring through genes.
10. – Characteristics or features of an organism, such as eye color or fur thickness.
13. – The gradual change in a species over many generations.
14. – A random change in DNA that can sometimes create a new trait.
15. – The young or children produced by living organisms.

1. – The natural differences among individuals in a species, such as color, size, or speed.
2. – A group of the same species living in the same area.
4. – The surroundings or conditions in which a plant or animal lives and that influence which traits are helpful.
5. DRIFT – A random change in how common certain traits are in small populations.
6. – A helpful trait that improves an organism’s ability to survive in its environment.
8. – The ability of an organism to continue living and reproducing despite challenges.
9. SELECTION – The process by which individuals with traits that help them survive and reproduce pass those traits on more often.
11. FLOW – The movement of genes from one population to another when individuals migrate or interbreed.
12. – Units of heredity that carry the instructions for traits from parents to offspring.