Question

During a study session about evolution, a student remarks, "The giraffe stretched its neck while reaching for higher leaves; its offspring inherited longer necks as a result." Which describes the inaccuracy of this quote?

Acquired traits are not passed on via genes during reproduction.
Overproduction of offspring leads to a struggle for survival.
Only those favorable adaptations have survival value.
Spontaneous mutations can result in the appearance of new traits.

Answer 1

The student's remark about giraffes' necks lengthening due to stretching and being passed to offspring is incorrect; such acquired traits are not heritable. It's the inherent genetic variations that lead to longer necks being selected for over generations, not the stretching behavior.

Step-by-step explanation:

The inaccuracy in the student's quote during the session about evolution is that acquired traits, like the stretching of a giraffe's neck to reach higher leaves, are not passed on genetically to offspring. This misconception stems from the early evolutionary theory of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, known as Lamarckian inheritance, which proposed that traits developed during an organism's life could be inherited. However, modern understanding of natural selection, influenced by Charles Darwin, shows that it is the inherent genetic variations within giraffes that lead to longer necks being passed down to offspring, not the stretching behavior itself. Giraffes with inherently longer necks had a better chance of survival and reproduction, leading to a population of giraffes with longer necks over generations, a process known as natural selection.