Question
Examine the image below.
This item has two parts. First answer Part A. Then answer Part B.
A group of 8th-grade science students are collecting data on a certain species of butterfly (as shown above) located near the school's forest. One day, they discover the same species of butterfly except it has a bright red head, which they have never seen before. A local scientist confirms that this characteristic has never been seen in this species.
Part A.
What is MOST LIKELY responsible for causing this sudden appearance of a new gene in the butterfly's species?
a physical injury to the head
an environmental cause
an artificial selection process
a mutative process
Part B.
Based on the answer to Part A, what immediate effect could this change have on the butterfly?
This change could be harmful by creating greater visibility to predators.
This change could allow the butterfly to develop into a new species.
This injury would reduce the survivability of the butterfly.
This change to the environment would create an immediate new species.
This item has two parts. First answer Part A. Then answer Part B.
A group of 8th-grade science students are collecting data on a certain species of butterfly (as shown above) located near the school's forest. One day, they discover the same species of butterfly except it has a bright red head, which they have never seen before. A local scientist confirms that this characteristic has never been seen in this species.
Part A.
What is MOST LIKELY responsible for causing this sudden appearance of a new gene in the butterfly's species?
a physical injury to the head
an environmental cause
an artificial selection process
a mutative process
Part B.
Based on the answer to Part A, what immediate effect could this change have on the butterfly?
This change could be harmful by creating greater visibility to predators.
This change could allow the butterfly to develop into a new species.
This injury would reduce the survivability of the butterfly.
This change to the environment would create an immediate new species.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
**Part A:** The most likely factor responsible for the sudden appearance of a new gene in the butterfly species is **a mutative process**. This process involves random mutations that can result in new traits or characteristics, such as the bright red head observed by the students.
**Part B:** Based on the answer to Part A, the immediate effect this change could have on the butterfly is **This change could be harmful by creating greater visibility to predators.** A bright red color may make the butterfly more noticeable to predators, potentially affecting its chances of survival.
**Part B:** Based on the answer to Part A, the immediate effect this change could have on the butterfly is **This change could be harmful by creating greater visibility to predators.** A bright red color may make the butterfly more noticeable to predators, potentially affecting its chances of survival.