Adaptations Pre-reading The first paragraph of the article gives the definition of the term adaptation. Underline it. Look at the picture of the finches. How are they similar to each other? How are they different? How do you think their physical differences influence their adaptation to their environment? Read the article. Comprehension Questions 1. Why is it useful to study the finches? 2. In what way(s) are finches similar to each other, and different from each other? Similarities Differences 3. Fill in the chart with information about the finches. type of finch ‘of food _type! ‘of beak ground finch tree finch warbler finch 294A. Explain what is meant by the term a favorable advantage. 4B. How does an organism get such an advantage? AC. Is this trait always valuable? Explain 5. What do the examples of bacteria and houseflies have in common? For Class Discussion A. What do you think happens to organisms that inherit disadvantageous traits? B. Scenario: A population of moths lived in a wooded area near a small city 100 years ago. They are active at night and rest on the light-colored bark of trees during the day. Most of the moths are light-colored. A few are dark. 100 years pass. The city has grown and is now the center of manufacturing in the region. The wooded area remains, but the tree trunks have become dark from soot from the factories. The descendants of the same population of moths still live here. But now most of them are dark-colored and very few are light. Explain how this change came about according to the theory of natural selection. 30Vocabulary Three words in each set are synonyms, one is not. Circle the word that does not belong. qualities offspring ancestors withstand modification remarkable compete selected probe qualify traits childish features children descendants parents survive variation withdraw alteration unusual cooperate favored investigate adjust 31 quantities descendants forefather resistant selection common fight chosen interest modify