Final answer:
Natural and artificial selection work within the existing genetic variation and cannot push traits beyond genetic potential, hence the statement is false. They can impact the average characteristics of a population but only within the range of possible genetic outcomes.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that natural and artificial selection can alter the average to be above the original possible range is false. Natural selection and artificial selection both work on the existing genetic variation within a population. They can shift the average characteristics of a population over time, but they cannot push traits beyond the range of what is genetically possible unless new genetic variation is introduced, for example, by mutations or gene flow. In artificial selection, humans select and breed individuals with specific desirable traits, thereby altering the genetic makeup of subsequent generations and potentially changing the average characteristics beyond the previous norm but within the genetic potential of the species. In natural selection, those individuals whose traits confer a reproductive advantage in a specific environment are more likely to survive and reproduce, thus passing on those traits and potentially shifting the population's average characteristics over time.