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.

1 answer

Part A: The MOST LIKELY cause of the sudden appearance of a new gene in the butterfly's species is a mutative process. Genes can emerge due to mutations, which are changes in the DNA sequence that can occur spontaneously or due to environmental factors.

Part B: The immediate effect of this change could possibly be this change could allow the butterfly to develop into a new species. Genetic mutations can lead to new traits that may eventually contribute to speciation over time, although the direct immediate impact may vary depending on the nature of the mutation.