How can knowledge of genetics help feed the world?

Vocabulary:
Selection: under specific environmental conditions, some traits allow an individual to survive and
reproduce better than other traits. The environment (or humans) selects for these traits.
Selection pressure: the environment removes organisms with traits that do not help survival and
reproduction or keeps organisms with traits that help survival and reproduction.
Frequency (frequencies): The relative number of times a specific value occurs in a total set of data,
in this case, the proportion of organisms in a population that has a particular trait
Extinct: Ceasing to exist
adaptation: an inherited trait or set of traits that improve an organisms chance of survival and
reproduction in its environment.
predator: an animal that eats other animals.
prey: animals that are eaten by other animals. structural
adaptation: adaptations that are part of an organisms physical makeup.
behavioral adaptations: adaptations that cause an organism to act in a specific way.
tundra: a rolling, treeless plain found in far northern areas of Earth.
species: a group of organisms whose members have the same structural traits and can breed
with one another.
bug: an insect with sucking mouthparts.
strategy (strategies): a way of doing something that gives an organism an advantage over other
organisms.
parameters: the limits or boundaries (in this case, values).
line graph: a type of graph that uses points plotted and then connected to form a line.
naturalist: a person who studies the plants, animals, and environment of an area.
hypothesis (pl, hypotheses): a prediction of what will happen between an independent
(manipulated) variable and a dependent (responding) variable.
geologist: a scientist who studies the origin, history, and structure of Earth.
fossils: the remains of once living organisms preserved in rocks in Earths crust.
natural selection: the differences in survival and reproduction among members of a population as
a result of selection pressure.
evolution: the change in the frequencies of traits in a population over time.
paleontologists: scientists who study fossils to learn about living things that existed in the past.
fossil record: all the fossils ever found.
sediment: small, solid pieces of material that come from rocks or living organisms.
sedimentary rocks: rocks formed from the compression and cementing together of layers of
sediment deposited in oceans, lakes, and swamps.
dating: determining the age of sedimentary rocks or fossils.
relative dating: determining which fossil is older than another by comparing the relative positions
of the rock layers in which they are found.
radioactive dating: a method of dating fossils by measuring the amount of a radioactive element
in the fossils and in the rocks in which the fossils are found.
half-life: the time it takes for half of an amount of a radioactive element to change into a new
stable element.
hectare: a metric unit of area measurement equal to 2.471 acres.
prairie: large area of grasslands usually located in the interior of continents.
 How can knowledge of genetics help feed the world?

diverse environment: having many different types of organisms that depend on one another for
survival.
monoculture: using the land for the growing of one crop.
native plants: from the local area and best adapted to the local climate.
erosion: the loss of soil through the action of water and wind.

3.1 Think about - How do traits and the environment interact?

Organisms and Traits

Blue Green Yellow Red

Organism: Hibernates Eats grasses and Needs warm Not resistant to

Hedgehog insects, fruits temperatures wobbly hedgehog
Traits: and berries syndrome

Environmental 70 degrees and If other Weather is There is no cure,

factor that lower causes organisms eat unpredictable in happens when
affects success them to the insects or some places. there's a lack of
of trait hibernate. grass theres no exercise or when
more for the they each too
hedgehog. much food
(affects muscle
control)

Traits and Trait Frequency

Traits for your organism

Trait 1: Blue Trait 2: Green Trait 3: Yellow Trait 4: Red

Hibernating is fatal Eats grasses and Needs warm Not resistant to

insects, fruits and temperatures wobbly hedgehog
berries syndrome

Initial Population

Number in total Frequency of Frequency of Frequency of Frequency of

population Trait 1 Trait 2 Trait 3 Trait 4

10 3 3 2 2

Final Population

Number in total Frequency of Frequency of Frequency of Frequency of

population Trait 1 Trait 2 Trait 3 Trait 4
 How can knowledge of genetics help feed the world?

10 1 3 0 0

Analyze your data Pg. 99

1. Calculate frequencies of traits.
a) Calculate frequencies of each color chip in your Initial Population, and record them in the part of
the chart labeled Initial Population. Put a 10 in the first column. That was the number of chips
you began with. In this generation, you had 10 chips, so you will divide by 10 when you do the
division step.
Blue- 3/10= 0.3
Red- 3/10=0.2
Green- 3/10= 0.3
Yellow- 2/10= 0.2
b) Calculate frequencies of each color chip in the Final Population. Begin by recording the total
number of chips you had at the end in the first column of the Final Population row of the chart.
When you calculate frequencies of these organisms, use this number when you divide.
Blue- 1/4=0.0.25
Green- 3/4=0/75
2. Compare the frequency of traits in the initial population and in the final population. Which
chip-color frequencies changed? What forced the frequencies to change?
All chip frequencies changed because there is more or less of the traits left because two traits
were gone completely. What forces frequencies to change would be that since we had to get rid of
some of our population because of the bad traits we only had a certain population left.
3 Look at the number of chips you had of each color in the initial and final populations. Look at
the frequencies of each color in the initial and final populations. What information do the
frequencies give you that you cannot get from the numbers? Why do you think scientists
calculate frequencies when they study populations?
The frequencies tell us that most of the traits and the environment work together and didnt give
the Hedgehogs a good outcome, this information could only be given by the frequencies because it
shows what traits stay or leave that kill them and how much exactly more than just numbers to
infer from.
4. In this investigation, you were modeling a real-world situation. What were you doing when you
removed a colored chip from your cup? What were you doing when you left a chip in the cup?
When we were removing a colored chip from the cup we were getting rid of some of our
organisms population because if it had bad traits that could kill them, they would die so we
simulated that.
5. How accurate do you think your model and simulation are? What other factors, in addition to
selection pressure, might affect the frequencies of traits in a population?
I think our model and simulation arent that accurate because we only thought of one factor or
variable in the simulation. Because there is many things that could affect the hedgehogs
population beside natural environments. Some other factors would be predators and humans.
 How can knowledge of genetics help feed the world?

Science Starter: 11/22/16

Selection Pressure: A organism that is different from the same species of organisms, so it
changes the line of family going down. Selection pressure is when the environment kills off the
organism because of a trait that does not help it survive.

- a statement of what you understand or a conclusion that you have reached from an
investigation or a set of investigations.

- data collected during investigations and trends in that data.

- knowledge about how things work. You may have learned this through
reading, talking to an expert, discussion, or other experiences.

Write your Explanation using the , , and .

Initial Settings

Initial Bug Speed - 10 Total Population - 60 Speed Color Map - Speed Slider - Normal
Violet

Initial Frequency of Bugs Bar Graph

1st Strategy: Sit and Wait Total Bugs Eaten: 36

Frequency of Bugs Bar Graph Average Bug Speed Vs. Time Line Graph
 How can knowledge of genetics help feed the world?

2nd Strategy: Chase Prey Total Bugs Eaten: 101

Frequency of Bugs Bar Graph Average Bug Speed VS. Time Line graph

3rd Strategy: Move Randomly Total Bugs Eaten: 41

Frequency of Bugs Bar Graph Average Bug Speed VS. Time Line Graph

Reflect - Pg. 112-113

1. With which strategy did the bird catch the most bugs? Why was this strategy did the bird
catch the most bugs? Why was this strategy successful in catching more bug? How
successful do you think this strategy will be over a long period of time? What evidence do
you have to support your answer?
I think that the move randomly strategy collected the most bugs. This is the most effective
strategy, because wherever the bird would hover, it would collect bugs due to holding down the
touchpad. Since the bugs were randomly moving around as well, wherever the hawk was, food
was found. Over a long period of time, I think that this strategy would remain effective. This is
due to no pattern of change in the adaptation of the bugs, leaving the hawks strategy the same.

2. With which strategy did the predator catch the fewest bugs? Why was this strategy not
as successful in catching a large number of bugs/ What advantage does this strategy have
 How can knowledge of genetics help feed the world?

that the other strategies do not have? Is it more likely to be successful over a longer period
of time?
I think that the sit and wait strategy was the most ineffective. This is because we had to wait for
the bugs to come to us, instead of us going to the bugs. I had to wait for long periods of time to
catch a single bug, where I couldve caught at least 10 bugs in that waiting time. The advantage
that this strategy has over the other strategies, is that I would collect bugs even if time was
continuous. Since the bugs did not flee and adapt, it was easy to catch them.

3. Assume that the predator can use only one strategy, . What is likely to happen
to the bug population in the future? What is likely to happen to the predator in the future?
In this situation, which of the organisms adapted?
Soon, the bugs would understand that the hawk could only fly around. Bugs will do very little
trying to flee, contrasting the hawks sit and wait strategy. In the future, the bugs will adapt and
flee the predator, leaving it tired, and starved. In this situation, the bugs adapted to flee, but the
hawk stayed the same, chasing prey.

4. Think about a field of corn. Bugs are pests that eat the corn. Birds are predators that eat
the bugs. How is the simulation you carried out similar to what happens in a real corn
field? How is it different?
The simulation is similar, because the predators chase the bugs, fly randomly, or sit and wait, to
eat bugs that grow in the corn fields. The bugs are bugs, the hawks are predators, and the area is
the corn field(s).

Stop and Think - Pg. 117

1. How did Darwins experiences help him to understand how species change and how new
species develop? How did he use these experiences to come up with his theory of natural
selection?
Darwin observed all the different species of animals traits and then compared them to find the
theory of natural selection, based on the data.

2. What did Darwin see as the major factors causing change from generation to generation?
Darwin thought that heredity, climate change, and fossils, showed how animal species changed
over time from the past to the present.

Simulate Feeding

Prediction: I think that the rice will be able to be easily picked up my the spoon, and maybe
clothespin/tongs. The toothpick may have a chance to pick up rice, because there are miniscule
holes at the edges, and the toothpick may be able to fit. The sunflower seeds should be able to
be picked up my every item but the tweezers. The marbles should only be able to be picked up
by the spoon and the tongs. The marshmallows are soft and small, so every item should be able
to pick it up.
 How can knowledge of genetics help feed the world?

Number of food items eaten

Beak types
Rice Sunflower seeds Marbles Marshmallows

Toothpick 0 0 0 10

Tongs 1 1 2 4

Clothespin 0 0 0 3

Spoon 17 12 4 3

Average (mean) 4.5 3.25 1.5 5

Simulate natural selection

Prediction: Based on the data before, I think that the items that could pick up the rice and
marbles will, and the ones that couldnt, wont. Although, I think that the items that could pick
up rice and marbles, will get a higher amount due to the singling out of only one food item.

Number of food items eaten

Beak types
Rice Marbles

Toothpick 2 0

Tongs 9 4

Clothespin 6 0

Spoon 100 7

Average (mean) 29.25 2.75

Exit Ticket - 11.30.16

I understand what the expectations are for advanced and how to think outside the box.

Exit Ticket - 12.1.16

I understand what the expectations are, and to use multiple pieces of evidence to receive an
advanced. #NewUnderstandings

Galapagos Islands - 12.5.16

3 things I learned 2 things I found interesting 1 question I still have

Darwins finches beaks are
different from each other,
because they have evolved.
There are 13 species of
darwin's finches.
The birds rip out the stigma of How would Charles Darwin
the flower to get to the react to this observation and
nectar. The stigma is exactly evolution of the finches?
the length of the tip of the
beak to the eye of the bird.
 How can knowledge of genetics help feed the world?

When a species mate with a

different species, the
None of the species of the
offsprings species is the
finches have the same beak.
same, but hybridized ie.. beaks..

Question

What question are you investigating and How does rainfall affect drought resistant
answering with this experiment? rice?

Prediction

What do you think the answer is and why do I think that the rice will not survive a large
you think that? What could happen if the rainfall (enough to flood) but I think it will
weather changes? survive small rainfalls.

Variable Identification

Which variable will you be changing in your We will be experimenting with

experiment? What values will you give it? drought-resistant rice vs normal rice. We will
give it the trait to be able to survive a drought
(lack of water) and rainfalls.

What will the farmers measure? The farmers will measure the amount of rice
How will you have to measure it? per area.
And they will measure it using mass, and the
volume of the amount of rice.

What condition will you hold constant? We will keep the rice constant. We will be
experimenting the rainfall and drought and
which rice will survive.

Procedure and Data

Write detailed instructions for how to conduct 1. Plant the genetically modified rice on
an experiment. You will need to include how one side of the field and the normal rice
the farmers will: on the other side of the field, make sure
Plant the rice they have the same amount of land.
Measure the differences in effects of
rainfall 2. While investigating the experiment
Record their data make sure that you use rainfall, use the
same amount of water to keep the
variable constant, to see how it will
affect the different rice.

3. Record the differences of the rice plants

from each week,how they look, what
happened to them and if the land
around them was affected.
 How can knowledge of genetics help feed the world?

4. Allow the rice to dry out and then

harvest the rice from each side only in
one hectare.

5. Measure the tons per hectare of both

types of rice, along with mass and
volume of the rice and record it.

Analyze Your Data - Pg. 136

1. Compare the average number of grains per plant in each plot. Which rice plant produced
more grains per plant in the wet environment? Use data from the experiment to support
your answer(s).
When the scientists conducted the experiment, they tested with dry environments and wet
environments. When the environment was dry, the genetically modified rice produced more rice
per plant, the regular rice produced 120 grains, for the drought-resistant and 100 per regular rice
plant. But when the rain was abundant, the amount of rice per plant changed, the drought
resistant rice produced 90 grains per plant and the regular rice produced 120 grains. Proving that
depending on the environment a certain rice will work better than another.

2. Compare the tons of rice produced per hectare in each plot. Which rice plant produced more
tons of rice per hectare in the dry environment? Which rice plant produced more tons of
rice per hectare in the wet environment? Use the data from the experiment to support
your answers.
Drought resistant rice produced more tons of rice per hectare in the dry environment. Regular rice
produced more tons of rice per hectare in the wet environment.

3. If you knew there would be a lot of rain, which rice would you plant? Why?
I would plant the flood-resistant rice, because lots of rain can lead up to a flood. If it does flood,
the flood-resistant rice will not die out.

4. If you knew there would be drought, which rice would you plant? Why?
If I knew there was going to be a drought I would plant the drought resistant rice because
the drought resistant plant can survive dry weather conditions also because if it can survive it
would produce more grains of rice per hectare rather than regular rice that if it did survive only
some would and have less rice grains.

5. What do you think would happen if farmers always planted only regular rice in all
environments? What do you think would happen if they always planted drought-resistant
rice?
If all farmers always planted regular rice in every environment not much rice plants would
survive which means there wouldnt be a lot of rice grains per hectare which is bad. They wouldnt
survive because lets say they planted it in a dry place it wouldn't survive along with a flood place
that has too much water.
 How can knowledge of genetics help feed the world?

6. If you could not predict the rainfall, which rice would you plant? Why?
If you could predict the amount of rainfall per year, you could potentially make sure that you can
get the most amount of rice possible. If the amount of rainfall was lower than average, then I
would plant the drought-resistant rice. If the amount of rainfall was above average, then I would
plant the flood-resistant rice. If the amount of rainfall is average, then plant both kinds of rice, so
at least one type would survive.

Reflect - Pg. 139

1. How does a monoculture differ from a balanced environment? When the environment
changes, what is one advantage a balanced environment has that a monoculture does not
have?
A balanced environment has many benefits, it adapts on its own, its natures way of balance. So
the roots of certain grasses will keep the soil in place when it is needed, but when you go in and
artificially create an environment like you do with monoculture, it is no longer the balance that is
supposed to happen, and things, like the dust bowl, can occur. Not only that, but when organisms
all evolve around each other, you know that everything works together, without one factor,
everything else wouldnt function properly. So when you have an environment like the prairie,
where everything is functioning together, and they need everything in that environment to keep
that environment functioning, and then you get rid of one factor, its like pulling the pin out of a
grenade.

2. The amount of rainfall in an environment can change at any time. What might be an
advantage of planting several kinds of rice with different traits? What are some other
traits the rice farmers might want their rice plants to have in addition to drought
resistance?
Planting two types of rice has may advantages such as being able to have more rice. And if one of
types of rice plants die the other will survive still giving you rice. So other traits the farmers may
want to have in the rice plants if flood tolerant making it resistant to floods.

3. What type of plants would you suggest planting in rice fields? Support your answer with
evidence from the field experiment and science knowledge about selection pressure,
diversity, and monocultures.
I would plant the regular rice because it produce more rice and it does not have the risk of causing
malnutrition.

Explanation:
The environment can impact rice production and affect it negatively, the environment can cause
the rice to grow in different ways and can also cause them to die. This is shown in the farmer's
field experiment/data they provided. The farmers tested how regular and drought resistant rice
plants would grow with a dry environment and a rainfall environment. The data was that in a dry
environment the drought resistant rice had an average of 120 rice grains per plant and the
regular rice had an average of 100 rice grains. In the wet environment the drought resistant rice
plant had an average of 90 rice grains and the regular rice had an average of 120 rice grains. This
shows that the environment affects how much rice is produced if we planted regular rice in flood
 How can knowledge of genetics help feed the world?

conditions and drought conditions, there wouldnt be as much rice needed to feed people around
the world. Regular rice plants cant grow in drought conditions and flood conditions so the plants
would die and only a few would survive, also if they died there would be less than 9 tons per
hectare and that means its less than it needs to be to feed the world. In class there was a video
of rice growing. Half of the plot of land was regular rice plants and the other was rice plants that
were flood resistant. The farmers flooded the field and had recordings of what the plants looked
like weeks after. In the video it showed that after the flooding many regular rice plants died and
only a few were left, the flood resistant plants were all there and growing tall and well. After
growing they were ready to be harvested, the regular rice plant produced 1.4 tons per hectare of
grains and the flood resistant produced 3.8 tons per hectare which is more than the regular
produced because the regular lost many plants. This shows that the weather condition killed the
regular rice so it couldn't produce more grains than its supposed to.

Reflect - Pg. 143

1. What traits would you want a dog to have if you planned to use the dog as a guide for a
blind person? What trait would you not want it to have? How would you select for the
desirable traits?
I would choose eyesight, hearing, and good sense of direction traits for the dog. This is because the
dog would be aware of its surroundings, and the surroundings of it owner to guide him or her. I
would not choose a hunting trait, because the dog might get distracted. For example, if the dog
and the blind owner were in the city, and the dog saw a pigeon, its hunting instincts might kick in,
and lead the owner quickly in the wrong direction.

2. How might breeding a dog for specific traits be similar to breeding rice for specific traits?
What factors would you need to think about? Using the steps people use to produce new
dog breeds, discuss the steps you would take to breed a new rice plant with specific traits.
When we breed dogs for specific traits, we breed them to conform to our daily lives, and to help
us, or be nonchalant with them. Not interrupting, or preventing us from achieving certain things.
These expectations also apply to breeding rice, because we want what our opinions expect, leaving
us satisfied with different kinds of rice.

Rice Trait Inheritance

Variety

A Grows well in dry conditions Recessive

B Grows well even in flood conditions Dominant

C Has high starch content Dominant

D Has high fiber content Recessive

E Has high levels of vitamins and minerals Recessive

F Is resistant to pests Recessive

G Is resistant to disease Recessive

H Produces more rice grains per plant than other rice Recessive
 How can knowledge of genetics help feed the world?

I Requires less fertilizer per acre of rice than other rice Dominant

First Recommendation: AFH

If the farmers wanted to produce more rice and more nutritious rice, the traits you would want
would be grows well in dry conditions, resistant to pests, and rice that produces more rice. This is
because the factories throw away a load of rice because of 1 pest found in a small sample, which
would not happen if the rice was resistant to pest. Also, the farmers would want rice that grows
well in dry conditions because you can never predict the amount of rainfall per year and you
would want at least 9 tons of rice per hectare. Plus, the amount of rainfall rice requires, even if
you received rainfall, but not enough, the rice would still survive. Lastly, youd want to produce
more rice because even when your field floods or is in a drought, it would still produce more rice.
As well as that, you wouldnt need more nutritious rice if you were able to produce more.
Therefore, the traits you would want to choose would be resistant to pests, grows well in dry
conditions, and produces more rice per plant.

Second recommendation: ABF

Addressing the questions of How do traits and the environment interact? We think that the
traits should be resistant to pests, grows well in dry conditions and flood conditions. This is
because when the farmers plant rice they can't predict what the weather will be everyday so its
better to have genetically modified rice that is modified to the environment. Also the resistant to
pests is because if one little bug is in the rice which could be a lot of rice they throw it out
because of that bug which can cause less rice than there is supposed to be. If we are talking
about crossing the traits in the rice grains I think that the traits will be able to cross because
they are traits that cant be affected by the environment and thats how we chose them. That
makes them similar.

Third recommendation/Explanation:
When farmers use the recommended plants, they should make sure that half of the field is
normal rice and the other is drought resistant because you would get enough rice per year no
matter the amount of rainfall. Although you would only want half the field to be
drought-resistant, you would want all of the rice to produce more and be pest resistant.