Natural selection m&m lab
- 1. Natural Selection M&M Lab Objective(s) - To describe the importance of coloration in avoiding predation - To explain how natural selection causes populations to change Materials M&M’s (mini, regular, peanut varieties) Colored paper Small collecting container Calculator Procedure Part I 1) Pick a member of your group to be the leader. This person will be responsible for running the lab and setting up the M&M’s. DO NOT EAT ANY M&M’S TILL THE END OF THE LAB. 2) Place the 30 regular sized M&M’s on the 11x17 colored piece of paper. Spread them out evenly on the piece of paper. 3) Design a table with the following headings. Record the color and number of each color in the table. M&M Color Total # (Population) # Selected (eaten) # Left (Survived) % Survival 4) Devise a hypothesis about which color M&M will have the highest survival percentage in your environment. Hypothesis __________________________________________________________________________ 5) Three members of the group will select M&M’s. Each member should keep their eyes closed until the leader of the group tells them to pick an M&M. Once told to select an M&M, the member of the group will open their eyes and select the first M&M they see. Place the M&M in the collecting container. Each member will select 5 M&M’s (for a total of 15 M&M’s). 6) Once 15 M&M’s have been selected, fill out the rest of the table. Leave the remaining 15 M&M’s on the colored paper. They will be used in Part II of the lab. Part II 1) Take the other bag of M&M’s (mini and peanut varieties) and put them on the colored piece of paper along with the M&M’s left from Part I of the lab. Spread them out evenly on the piece of paper. Empty the collecting container. 2) Devise a hypothesis about which color and size M&M will have the highest survival percentage in your environment. Hypothesis __________________________________________________________________________
- 2. 3) Design a table with the following headings. Record the color, size, and number of each color in the table. (mini = small, regular = average, peanut = large) M&M Color Size Total # # Selected # Left % Survival (population) (eaten) (Survived) 4) Three members of the group will select M&M’s. Each member should keep their eyes closed until the leader of the group tells them to pick an M&M. Once told to select an M&M, the member of the group will open their eyes and select the first M&M they see. Place the M&M in the collecting container. Each member will select 10 M&M’s (for a total of 30 M&M’s). 5) Once 30 M&M’s have been selected, fill out the rest of the table. Analysis- take your data from Part I and Part II and create a graphical representation of color of M&Ms and % survival. A Pie Chart or Bar Graph will work best. Have one member from your group use computer to create graph in Excel and print out for each member of group. Tape/staple these into your lab notebook. Discussion 1) What was the color of your environment? 2) What is represented by the M&M’s? What do you represent? 3) Is coloration an important factor in successful predation? Explain why? 4) What is the relationship between the environment and the color of the M&M’s selected? 5) Which M&M color had the lowest survival in Part I? _______ in Part II________? a. Why do you think there was a difference in survival rates for Part I and Part II. Conclusion-Summary of Lab, was it successful? Why or why not? Any Errors in your data?