Module/Week 8
Variation
Laboratory & Media Piece
Variation Objective
Make an original media piece that links genetic variation to proteins, phenotypes, inheritance, and evolution.
This activity ties together many concepts that have appeared previously in the course, including:
Assignment (due Sunday on Canvas)
The relationship of genes to proteins is introduced on the Genes to Proteins webpage:
Variation
This media piece ties together concepts that have been introduced in different parts of the course. You will be linking genetic variation to an individual organism’s phenotype, inheritance within a family, and evolutionary change within a species. This is your choice of original media; consider trying a new form of media or a different creative approach.
Include each of these in your variation media piece, you can number your work 1-6 if you like:
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Explain how genes relate to proteins, including examples of three proteins found in animal species.
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Describe what a mutation is and how it relates to alleles. Include an example of a mutation that has a significant impact on phenotype.
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Explain how sexual reproduction leads to increased variation in offspring.
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Provide two examples of variation within species (can be animal or plant). This can be examples of variation you find outdoors. As always, be safe in your field work.
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Describe (or model) how variation in phenotypes may lead to one organism within a species having greater fitness (survival and reproduction) than another organism.
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Evolution and artificial selection both relate to changes in allele frequencies within a species. Explain why genetic variation is fundamentally necessary for both artificial selection and natural selection to occur. You can relate this back to the V.I.S.T.A. model.
Media Directions
Submitted to Canvas.
Upload your variation media piece to Canvas. Your work can be submitted as a PDF, a word document, captioned photos, or videos. Multiple assignment formats are supported.
