General Biology 2

Quarter 1 – Module 3:
Mechanisms of Evolution
General Biology 2 – Grade 12
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 1 – Module 3: Mechanisms of Evolution
First Edition, 2020

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General Biology 2
Quarter 1 – Module 3:
Mechanisms of Evolution
Introductory Message
For the facilitator:

Welcome to the General Biology 2 – Grade 12 Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM)

Module on Mechanisms of Evolution!

This module was collaboratively designed, developed and reviewed by

educators both from public and private institutions to assist you, the teacher or

facilitator in helping the learners meet the standards set by the K to 12 Curriculum

while overcoming their personal, social, and economic constraints in schooling.

This learning resource hopes to engage the learners into guided and

independent learning activities at their own pace and time. Furthermore, this also

aims to help learners acquire the needed 21st century skills while taking into

consideration their needs and circumstances.

In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the

body of the module:

Notes to the Teacher

This contains helpful tips or strategies that
will help you in guiding the learners.

As a facilitator you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this

module. You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to

manage their own learning. Furthermore, you are expected to encourage and assist

the learners as they do the tasks included in the module.

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For the learner:

Welcome to the General Biology 2 – Grade 12 Alternative Delivery Mode (ADM)

Module on Mechanisms of Evolution!

The hand is one of the most symbolized part of the human body. It is often

used to depict skill, action and purpose. Through our hands we may learn, create

and accomplish. Hence, the hand in this learning resource signifies that you as a

learner is capable and empowered to successfully achieve the relevant competencies

and skills at your own pace and time. Your academic success lies in your own hands!

This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful

opportunities for guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You

will be enabled to process the contents of the learning resource while being an active

learner.

This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:

This will give you an idea of the skills or

What I Need to Know
competencies you are expected to learn in the

module.

This part includes an activity that aims to

What I Know
check what you already know about the

lesson to take. If you get all the answers

correct (100%), you may decide to skip this

module.

This is a brief drill or review to help you link

What’s In
the current lesson with the previous one.

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 In this portion, the new lesson will be
What’s New
introduced to you in various ways such as a

story, a song, a poem, a problem opener, an

activity or a situation.

This section provides a brief discussion of the

What is It
lesson. This aims to help you discover and

understand new concepts and skills.

This comprises activities for independent

What’s More
practice to solidify your understanding and

skills of the topic. You may check the

answers to the exercises using the Answer

Key at the end of the module.

What I Have Learned This includes questions or blank

sentence/paragraph to be filled into process

what you learned from the lesson.

This section provides an activity which will

What I Can Do
help you transfer your new knowledge or skill

into real life situations or concerns.

This is a task which aims to evaluate your

Assessment
level of mastery in achieving the learning

competency.

In this portion, another activity will be given

Additional Activities
to you to enrich your knowledge or skill of the

lesson learned. This also tends retention of

learned concepts.

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 This contains answers to all activities in the
Answer Key
module.

At the end of this module you will also find:

References This is a list of all sources used in developing

this module.

The following are some reminders in using this module:

1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of the

module. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises.

2. Don’t forget to answer What I Know before moving on to the other activities

included in the module.

3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.

4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your answers.

5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.

6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with it.

If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do not

hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind that you are

not alone.

We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful learning and

gain deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You can do it!

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 What I Need to Know

This module is designed for you to explore the different mechanisms that
transported changes in population. You will learn about the different mechanisms
that brought evolution. This module will help you to understand why organisms
change through time and why life doesn’t stay the same. You will acquire knowledge
about artificial and natural selection, gene flow, genetic drift, mutation, and
recombination or non-random mating.

At the end of this module, you are expected to:

1. Explain the mechanisms that produce change in populations from generation to

generation (e.g., artificial selection, natural selection, genetic drift, mutation,
recombination) (STEM_BIO11/12-IIIc-g-8)

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 What I Know

Hi! Let us check what you already know about the Mechanisms of Evolution.
Fill in the following crossword puzzles with the correct terms. Use the clues provided
below the puzzle.

1 12 15

2 10

14

13

3 11

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Clues:

Across

1. A very common practice among farm breeders; selectively breeding farm

animals with better traits such as leaner meat.
2. A major factor of evolution, it could be the habitat or the certain conditions
on where organisms live.
3. A group of species living in one area.
4. These are processes that caused something to take place or happen.
5. Change in population which is caused chance processes.
6. Also known as gene flow.
7. Change in characteristics of populations over generations.
8. Favoring one’s characteristics over another, resulting in the reproduction of
that said characteristics rather than the one which is not favored.
9. The ability to stay alive and beat the odds presented by the environment.
10. An organism that is the most adapted to its environment.
11. Genetic drift is also termed as this kind of cause for evolution.

Down

12. It occurs during meiosis and is the cause of genetic diversity even between
the offspring of the same parents.
13. The change in the original sequence of the DNA.
14. One major cause of mutation.
15. The idea that nature favors some characteristics over others hence choosing
the population with those characteristics to survive and flourish.

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 Lesson

1 Mechanisms of Evolution

You might have heard the word evolution from your previous biology classes,
from different multimedia platforms and even from a normal daily conversation. This
time, in this module we will try to analyze evolution from the standpoint of a person
who studies science.

Questions like, “Is it true that humans evolved from chimpanzees?”, “Are we
still evolving?” and “Why haven’t we seen actual evolution in modern days?” will be
answered as we move along through this module.

As you learn about the true meaning of evolution, we will also study the
different mechanisms that cause such changes in the population of some organisms.

What’s In

paa
Previously on Module 2: You have delved deeper into the distant past of the history
of life on Earth. You have learned about the origin of life on Earth and the changes
that occurred on these life-forms throughout the geologic time.

By way of a review, you need to arrange the following organisms in order of their
appearance on the geologic time scale (from the earliest to the most recent.)

Modern man, Bacteria, Primates, Eukaryotes, Hominids

1. _________________________
2. ___________________________
3. ___________________________
4. ___________________________
5. ___________________________

As you arrange the given organisms from

the earliest to the present time, you should take note of how simple or complex these
organisms are and on how to do their complexity move along the timeline. Do more
complex organisms appear earlier or later in the geologic time scale? What does this
signify?

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 Notes to the Teacher
This module aims to help learners explain the different
mechanisms that brought changes to the population. Guide the
learner in understanding that organisms on the geologic time scale
are simpler during earlier dates and have developed into a more
elaborate living form on the most recent dates. What causes the
organisms to change through time are the topic of discussion in
this module.

What’s New

Below is a poem about evolution, written by an online contributor at Behance with a

portfolio named Retoka. Read the poem and reflect on its thought by answering the
guide questions that follow. This poem will also help you gain insights of the topic.

Evolution

Nature's revolution
Evolution
For survival, the ultimate solution
Natural selection, survival of the fittest
All of world's species put to the big test
Adaptation, change is the only way
Evolution doesn't happen in one day
Who will become extinct? who will pass on their genes?
The world's brightest minds still researching what this all means
Evolution, slow and sure
For the earth's challenges, it is the cure
Evolution, theory of Darwin
The story of how nature prepared us to win
Intelligent creation or evolution?
The debate continues
Which is the better solution?
Everyone has different views
God on one side, evolution on another
Let us seek the truth instead of fighting each other
Evolution, man from monkeys
To life's mysteries, it holds the keys

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 Evolution - The link between the plants, the birds and the bees
The storm unleashed by "On the origin of species"
Evolution
Nature's revolution
Evolution
For survival, the ultimate solution

Guide questions:

1. According to the poem, what is the ultimate solution for survival?

2. What is defined as the survival of the fittest?
3. Who is the scientist mentioned in the poem?
4. Instead of fighting with each other, what does the author suggest?
5. What is the link between the plants, the birds, and the bees and holds
the keys to life’s mysteries?

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 What is It

GENETIC VARIATION: YOU ARE ‘YOU-NIQUE’

Have you ever wondered why do people look the same, but also look different
from each other? Like how you look like some of your relatives, but still, you are
unique and recognizable. To some extent, even twins may look exactly alike but still,
there will be some traits that will make them different from each other, such as the
way they talk or the way they walk.

No two persons are exactly similar. Hence, no two persons have the same
codes of DNA. This is because as an individual, you carry a unique set of genes. The
differences between the genes of each individual and the differences between genes
of the different populations are termed as GENETIC VARIATION.

GENE FREQUENCY and EVOLUTION

As an individual, you carry a unique gene of traits, so as the other people in

the world. But there are parts of that gene in which you may find similarities with
others. For example, you may be unique because you are the only person with tan
skin and three moles beneath an eye within your community, but you may also be
the same with other people in your community because the majority of you have tan
skin.

The number of times at which the common gene appears in everyone within a
population is called GENE FREQUENCY. In a simpler context, gene frequency refers
to how common a specific gene is in a group of specie within a specific area.

You can even solve gene frequency by dividing the actual occurrence of a
specific gene with the total number of populations. It is like solving for the percentage
of the population with a specific common gene.

Any change in the gene frequency of a species or population is EVOLUTION.

Evolution is the change in the genetic materials of organisms, it is a change
manifested in their traits. It is also a change that started deep within the cells of
individuals, in their genes, in their DNA, in their chromosomes.

MECHANISMS OF EVOLUTION: What causes a change in gene frequency?

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 Gene and the DNA don’t change overnight and don’t change with no cause.
There are various mechanisms that bring forth changes to the gene frequency, let us
investigate and explain them one by one:

1. Artificial Selection
This is also termed as selective breeding. One of the causes of change in the
gene frequency of some species specifically domesticated plants and animals is
artificial selection or selective breeding. It is when humans selectively choose to breed
animals and plants with specific traits that they deemed beneficial for different
purposes.

Examples are the modern corn

and modern chicken; as time passed by,
the gene frequency of the original traits
of corn and chicken, which are smaller
have evolved into bigger sizes to suit the
needs for better market value for these
goods.

2. Natural Selection
It is the process which is also known as “Survival of the Fittest.” Fittest means
NOT the person or organism with the “body-goal” or “fitspiration” body type. Fittest
in the ground of survival means the organism with traits that are most adaptive to
its environment. Nature or the environment dictates which among the organism will
survive, this organism has a certain variety of traits or characteristics that will be
passed on to the next generation.

An example is the June bug or beetle which is well known as “salagubang” in

Filipino; you can always find a dark-colored salagubang within the neighborhood
especially during wet seasons in the Philippines. But in rare instances, you may see
that there are also green colored salagubang. Natural selection is a major reason for
this, green beetles are easily spotted by birds that may feed on them. Since
salagubang usually lives on logs and warm dark areas or part of a tree, over the
course of time those with green colors became scarce after being easily eaten by prey
such as birds. The surviving brown salagubang passed on their genes to their

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offspring which is why most of the salagubang that you see around are brown or
dark-colored.

3. Gene Flow or Migration

Another mechanism of evolution is gene flow or migration. This occurs
when a group or individual specie migrated from one place to another affecting
the gene pool of the place that they left and the place where they arrive.

An example of gene flow is when a brown beetle migrated to the population of green
beetle because of certain reasons, when this brown beetle interbreeds with a green
beetle the gene of their offspring will be different from the rest of the original
population. As time goes by, continuous interbreeding will result in hybrids offspring
and will in turn make the gene frequency of the said population significantly different
from before.

4. Genetic Drift
Genetic drift is a mechanism that may bring change to the gene frequency in a
population because of “chance” events. It is a result of an incident or accident which
may have brought significant and palpable change to the gene frequency or common
traits in a given population.

Catastrophic events such as floods, volcanic eruptions, and a pandemic or

epidemic may greatly affect the gene pool of a given population, especially if the
population is small enough to be impacted by some “chance” events.

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 An event that significantly reduces the
number of populations is called the
bottleneck effect. As you can see in the
illustrative analogy on the left, the original
population is once filled with more variety
of genes from different unique
individuals; but the bottleneck hinders
some other individuals to survive or
continue reproducing, leaving only the
chance survivors to reproduce and pass
on their traits.

5. Non-Random Mating
It occurs when some species choose a
partner with preferred characteristics.
Some female species only allow certain
male characteristics to be their partner,
making the genes of the chosen male
species to reproduce in the next
generation. Some male species with less
preferred traits may not be able to
reproduce and pass their genes on the next
generation. This event may also happen in
male to female circumstances, wherein
some male species choose or look for
specific traits in a female.

The given scenario above may result in less variation in the gene frequency of a
population; non-sexual reproduction, which is done by some species of plants is also
a type of non-random mating because it uses its variety of genes to reproduce hence
no mixing of traits will occur. Another example may observe when humans choose
whom to date, some men and women have certain preferences in whom they will
choose as a partner, it may also be dictated by cultural preferences. These preferred
characteristics may be manifested in the genetic pool of a certain population as time
will show how these characteristics are more commonly observed than others.

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6. RecombinationRecombination or
gene shuffling is life’s way of
bringing variety in similarity. It
occurs during meiosis, the cell
replication process used for
reproduction. Recombination is
also the reason behind gene
variation between siblings and
twins and makes genetic diversity
possible. During meiosis, crossing
over happens where homologous
chromosomes line up to prepare for
cell division. In this instance,
chromosomes exchange
information and shuffle parts of the
DNA which resulted in a very
random variation yet the same
copy of the original gene.

7. Mutation
A Mutation occurs when an insertion, deletion, or any change in the codes of the
DNA takes place. Changes in the DNA codes may result from internal or external
factors. Internal factors happen when the DNA fails to copy or duplicate the DNA
correctly; while the cell has many mechanisms to prevent this from happening. There
are still times when this occurs and became undetected by the cells. External factors
are usually caused by radiation; this is because excessive radiation causes ionization
in the cellular level of the body which may result in the breaking of the DNA. The
break in the DNA will cause faulty replication and mutation. Not all mutations are
seen and manifested in the physical characteristics of organisms, some mutations
are not even passed on from the parents to the offspring. Somatic mutation is when
mutation takes place in the somatic cells or regular cells of the organisms; hence will
not be replicated during meiosis. If the mutated DNA is not replicated during meiosis,
it will not pass on to the next generation.

The Mutation on the sex cells or gametes is the only type of mutation that may affect
the gene frequency of a population in the long run, this is called a germline
mutation. An example of this is the antibiotic resistance of some bacteria.

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 What’s More

Have you enjoyed learning about evolution and the mechanisms that brought
changes to the characteristics of a certain population?

Observe the following comic strips, choose any mechanisms of evolution that are
applicable to the given scenario. Explain your answer.

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 What I Have Learned

Now it’s your turn! Read and fill out the following “I have learned
oath.”

Learning about evolution and the mechanisms that cause

changes to the gene frequency of a population is a remarkable

involvement! I can now understand how life has evolved over

time. I have remembered that (1.) __________________ is the number of times a certain

gene appears in a given population and the changes that occurs in it may result to

(2.) _____________. The diversity in genes amongst individual is termed as (3.)

________________ .

I have learned from this module that there are 6 mechanisms which cause changes

to the characteristics of a population; they are (4.) ______________________________,

(5.) _________________, (6.) ___________________, (7.) _____________________, (8.)

________________, and (9.) _____________________.

Life is indeed a genius! It strives to survive and change its form to adapt to the

changes in its environment! As a result, evolution takes place when the next

generation of organisms acquired new traits from their parents, which are fit for the

requirement of the environment where they habituate. What’s more amazing is how

humans have been doing manipulative evolution of some crops and animals in the

form of selective breeding or artificial selection. With proper precaution, science is

beneficial to society. I ___________________ (write/state your name), do solemnly

pledge that I will only do good and responsible science for my society specifically in

learning about the mechanisms that brought changes to the population.

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 What I Can Do

Organizations that aim to protect the

rights of animals have been battling leisure

breeders to stop selective breeding because

they view it as a form of abuse or cruelty to

animals. Selective breeding or artificial

selection is a mechanism that has brought a

huge impact on the gene frequency of

animals especially domesticated ones like

dogs and cats.

There are cases when breeding animals such as dogs resulted in diseases and

malformation or abnormalities in the resulting offspring.

In your point of view as a senior high school STEM student, is it proper to continue

selective breeding? Support your claim and your answer in a bulleted format.

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 Assessment

Let’s see how well you have relished unraveling the reasons or mechanisms that
caused changes to the characteristics of a population from generation to generation
by answering the following questions. Choose and encircle the letter of the best
answer.

1. Evolution is brought by the change in the gene frequency of a population over

the next generation, which among the following is considered the change in
gene frequencies because of chance processes?
a. Artificial Selection
b. Natural Selection
c. Gene Flow
d. Genetic Drift

2. The movement of genes or certain traits into or out of a population, that is

immigration or emigration, is identified as what type of mechanism causes a
change in the gene frequency of a population?
a. Gene Flow
b. Genetic Drift
c. Mutation
d. Recombination

3. Name the type of mechanisms of evolution that takes place because some
female/male species prefer to interbreed with mates that have certain or
predetermined qualities.
a. Mutation
b. Recombination
c. Non-random Mating
d. Natural Selection

4. Identify the mechanism of evolution that resulted from the deletion, insertion,
substitution, or inversion of DNA because of radiation or copying errors.
a. Artificial Selection
b. Mutation
c. Recombination
d. Genetic Drift

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5. Nature “selects” which organisms will be successful.
a. Artificial Selection
b. Natural Selection
c. Gene Flow
d. Genetic Drift

6. What type of mechanism of evolution is this: some species exhibit intra-sexual

competition leading to the preservation of genes of those successful
organisms?
a. Recombination
b. Non-random Mating
c. Mutation
d. Genetic Drift

7. “Survival of the fittest.”

a. Gene Flow
b. Genetic Drift
c. Artificial Selection
d. Natural Selection

8. A cause of change in the gene frequency of some animals and crops because
of humans’ selective breeding or cross-pollination activities on these said
organisms:
a. Artificial Selection
b. Natural Selection
c. Recombination
d. Mutation

9. Which among the following best explain recombination as a mechanism of

evolution?
a. Recombination is a natural process which happens during meiosis, it is
the crossing over of the homologous chromosomes that resulted in gene
variation and random gene exchange.
b. Recombination is the process of combining two parts of DNA to create a
new one in the cell’s pursuit to fight off foreign bodies.
c. Recombination happens when two identical cells cross over one another
and exchange information between their nuclei.
d. Recombination resulted from the mitosis of cells to repair the damage.

10. How will you differentiate artificial selection from natural selection?
a. Artificial selection happens when nature dictates the fittest organisms to
survive and continue their generation, while natural selection is a
laboratory type of selectively choosing the best DNA copy from cells.
b. Artificial selection happens in laboratories while natural selection happens
in nature.
c. Artificial selection is manipulated by humans and natural selection is
dictated by the environment of the organisms.

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 d. B and C
11. What type of mutation can cause evolution or change in the gene frequency
of organisms from one generation to another?
a. Germ-line mutation
b. Individual Radiated Mutation (IRM)
c. Ionized mutation
d. Somatic mutation

12. This effect happens after a genetic drift when a huge percentage of population
or organisms are wiped off or were unable to reproduce because of
catastrophic events, resulting in change to the gene frequency of the affected
population:
a. Founder Effect
b. Healer Effect
c. Bottleneck Effect
d. Extinction Effect

13. Among the mechanisms of evolution, which is caused by the deliberate action
and activity of man?
a. Artificial Selection
b. Natural Selection
c. Gene Flow
d. Genetic Drift

14. How will you explain the mechanisms of evolution?

a. These are the processes that cause gene frequencies of the population to
change from one generation to another.
b. Some of the mechanisms of evolution are gene flow, genetic drift, and
recombination.
c. Mechanisms of evolution are caused by nature, but sometimes it may also
be caused by accidents or chance processes.
d. All of the above

15. The following are the mechanisms of evolution that may be caused by an
accident or unforeseen events EXCEPT:
a. Genetic Drift
b. Natural Selection
c. Mutation
d. Artificial Selection

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 Additional Activities

Great job! We’re near another end of an amazing learning experience. There’s just
one more thing to do!

Fill in the following smart art shape with words and terminologies that you learned
from this module:

Mechanisms
of Evolution

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 23
Assessment:
Additional
What I Have
Activities: 1. B
Learned:
2. C What I Can Do:
Students answers 3. C 1. Gene
may vary. 4. B Students answers frequency
5. B may vary. 2. Evolution
6. A 3. Gene
7. D variation
8. A 4. Artificial
9. A selection
10. D 5. Natural
11. A selection
12. C 6. Gene flow
7. Genetic drift
13. A
8. Recombinati
14. D
on
15. D 9. Mutation
What’s New: What’s In:
What I Know:
What’s More: 1. Evolution 1. Bacteria
2. Natural 1. Artificial
2. Eukaryotes
Students answers selection selection
3. Primates
may vary. 3. Darwin 2. Environment
4. Hominids
4. Seek the 5. Modern ma 3. Population
truth 4. Mechanisms
5. Evolution 5. Genetic drift
6. Migration
7. Evolution
8. Nonrandom
mating
9. Survival
10. Fittest
11. Chance
12. Recombina
tion
13. Mutation
14. Radiation
15. Natural
selection
Answer Key
References
DepEd (2020). Most Essential Learning Competencies with Corresponding CG codes.
General Biology 2. Pp. 631-633.

CHED (2016). Teaching Guide for Senior High School in General Biology 2. First
Edition. Pp. 30-48.

Tiamzon, Maria Elena, et al. (2016). General Biology 2 Textbook for Senior Highschool.
Quezon City: Vibal Group, Inc. Pp. 91-94.

Retoka. “Evolution.” Behance. 2016. June 23, 2020.

https://www.behance.net/gallery/21702871/POEMS-ABOUT-EVOLUTION

Collins, Francis. “Genetic Variation.” National Human Genome Research

Institute:The Forefront of Genomics. 2017. June 23, 2020.
https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Genetic-Variation

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For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

Department of Education – Region III,

Schools Division of Bataan - Curriculum Implementation Division
Learning Resources Management and Development Section (LRMDS)

Provincial Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan

Telefax: (047) 237-2102

Email Address: [email protected]

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