Asked by /

Consider the following scenario:

An animal is born with a shorter tail. This makes no difference to its ability to survive or reproduce, but as a result of pure luck, the animal survives, reproduces, and passes its shorter tail down to its offspring. Over time, the species develops a shorter tail.

What type of process is described in this scenario?

(1 point)
Responses

natural selection
natural selection

artificial selection
artificial selection

genetic drift
genetic drift

genetic modification

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
genetic drift

The trait is neutral (no effect on fitness) and spreads by chance through survival and reproduction, so its frequency changes due to random sampling rather than selection or artificial/engineered change.