What is evolution?

What is evolution?

• A. Changes in inherited characteristics in a biological population over successive generations
• B. The growth of cholesterol in arteries
• C. The process of learning new skills
• D. Short-term adaptation within a lifetime

Answer: (A)

Evolution is the process by which inherited characteristics in a biological population change over successive generations. Variations in genes mean some individuals have traits that help them survive or reproduce more effectively. Those individuals leave more offspring, so the frequencies of those genes increase in the population over time, leading to gradual changes in traits. This emphasizes that evolution happens at the population level and across generations, not within a single lifetime. The other options describe processes that are not evolutionary: growth of cholesterol in arteries is a disease process; learning new skills happens within an individual and doesn’t involve inherited genetic changes; and short-term adaptation within a lifetime is a reversible adjustment, not a heritable, generational change.

Evolution is the process by which inherited characteristics in a biological population change over successive generations. Variations in genes mean some individuals have traits that help them survive or reproduce more effectively. Those individuals leave more offspring, so the frequencies of those genes increase in the population over time, leading to gradual changes in traits. This emphasizes that evolution happens at the population level and across generations, not within a single lifetime. The other options describe processes that are not evolutionary: growth of cholesterol in arteries is a disease process; learning new skills happens within an individual and doesn’t involve inherited genetic changes; and short-term adaptation within a lifetime is a reversible adjustment, not a heritable, generational change.