Patricia lives near a small island. A population of tortoises lives on the island with no predators. Some of the tortoises have long necks (upper L) and some of the tortoises have short necks (upper S). Patricia wants to know how the numbers of long-necked and short-necked tortoises will change over time. She collects some information.

Question

All female long-necked tortoises are able to lay eggs.
Only half of female short-necked tortoises are able to lay eggs.
In year 1 of the study, there are twice as many short-necked tortoises as long-necked tortoises. (upper S equals 2 upper L)


A long-necked tortoise and a short-necked tortoise.

Question 1
,begin emphasis,Part A,end emphasis,
Patricia predicts the conditions on the island will stay the same.



What equation will ,begin emphasis,most,end emphasis, likely describe the tortoise population in ,begin emphasis,year 2,end emphasis,?

Question 1 Answer options with 3 options
A.
Upper S equals Upper L

B.
upper S equals 2 upper L

C.
Upper S equals 4 upper L

Question 2
,begin emphasis,Part B,end emphasis,
What statement about the tortoise population does the correct answer from Part A ,begin emphasis,best,end emphasis, support?

Question 2 Answer options with 3 options
A.
The numbers of long-necked and short-necked tortoises are stable.

B.
There will always be fewer long-necked tortoises than short-necked tortoises.

C.
The long-necked tortoises have a survival advantage over the short-necked tortoises.

Answer 1

Question 1

Part A

Patricia predicts the conditions on the island will stay the same. In year 1, there are twice as many short-necked tortoises as long-necked tortoises (S = 2L). Assuming the same reproductive success continues, the relationship between the populations will likely remain constant. Therefore, the equation that would describe the tortoise population in year 2 would also be:

B. S = 2L

Question 2

Part B

The correct answer from Part A (S = 2L) indicates that the ratio of short-necked to long-necked tortoises remains constant over time, pointing to stability in the population dynamics given no changes in conditions.

The statement that best supports this observation would be:

A. The numbers of long-necked and short-necked tortoises are stable.