This chapter describes the case of giraffes' long necks to illustrate how natural selection works on variety within a population.This explanation contrasts with the incorrect alternative of the inheritance of acquired characteristics,which suggests that
A) in each generation, individual giraffes strain their necks to reach food just a bit higher, and that this straining somehow modifies their genetic material.
B) in each generation, individual giraffes mate with giraffes having longer necks because they are better at getting food, and their offspring's neck size results in an average of the parents' neck sizes.
C) a need for a longer neck activates the long-neck gene throughout development.
D) natural selection works on the genotype, not the phenotype.
E) the presence of variety among a population works against the advantages of natural selection.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A) The incorrect alternative of the inheritance of acquired characteristics, as proposed by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, suggests that traits acquired during an organism's lifetime could be passed on to its offspring. This idea, exemplified by giraffes stretching their necks to reach higher leaves and then passing this trait to their offspring, has been disproven in favor of Darwin's theory of natural selection, which operates on genetic variation within a population.

This Chapter Describes the Case of Giraffes' Long Necks to Illustrate