Final answer:
Natural Selection is the process explaining the change in inherited traits of a population over time, primarily driven by changes in allele frequencies due to various evolutionary forces.
Step-by-step explanation:
Natural Selection is a widely accepted explanation for why the inherited traits of a population change over time. Inherited traits are characteristics that are passed down from parents to offspring, such as your eye color. These differ from acquired traits, like muscle strength from exercise.
Evolution occurs when there is a change in the genetic makeup of a population over time, which can be observed as a change in allele frequencies. The modern synthesis of evolutionary theory, which includes Darwin's and Wallace's ideas on natural selection as well as Mendel's principles of heredity, supports this understanding. Population genetics provides a framework for studying these changes, and a population is said to be evolving if its allele frequencies change from one generation to the next, deviating from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
Mutations, natural selection, genetic drift, and migration are all factors that can change allele frequencies. Over time, traits that are favored by natural or sexual selection may become more common within a population, leading to evolution.