Adaptations, competition, natural selection and evolution
unitSlug: adaptations-competition-natural-selection-and-evolution
Description: This unit explores variation within and between species, competition, and natural selection. It focuses on asking questions, making predictions, planning scientific enquiries, and testing hypotheses. It also covers analysing results, explaining findings, and identifying new questions that arise.
Why this, why now: This unit builds on pupil prior learning from of carbonVariation (differences within species), where they explored how genetic differences contribute to diversity within a species. It deepens their understanding by examining adaptations, competition, and natural selection, highlighting how these processes drive evolution. This prepares pupils for the next unit, Fossil evidence, selective breeding and explaining evolution, where they will apply their knowledge to study evidence for evolution, the impact of human intervention through selective breeding, and evolutionary changes.
Prior knowledge requirements:
All species have features which make them suited to their environment.
Changes to the environment may make it harder for organisms to survive in a particular habitat.
There are differences in the features of individuals of the same species, and this is called variation.
Variation can be caused by environmental and genetic factors.
National curriculum content:
Ask questions and develop a line of enquiry based on observations of the real world, alongside prior knowledge and experience
Make predictions using scientific knowledge and understanding
Select, plan and carry out the most appropriate types of scientific enquiries to test predictions, including identifying independent, dependent and control variables
Present reasoned explanations, including explaining data in relation to predictions and hypotheses
Identify further questions arising from their results
The variation between species and between individuals of the same species meaning some organisms compete more successfully, which can drive natural selection
Fossils show that species change over time [published]
Understanding time scales [published]
Adaptations [published]
Competition [published]
Heritable variation [published]
Natural selection [published]
A model of natural selection [published]
Evolution [published]