Linking simulation steps, analogs, and targets.
| . | Mapping Analog to Targets . | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Simulation Steps . | Parts of Simulation (Analog) . | What Happens in Nature (Concrete Target) . | Components of Natural Selection (Conceptual Target) . |
| 1. Students obtain a bag of 40 noodles of different colors (10 yellow, 10 orange, 10 purple, 10 green) | Bag full of 40 noodles | Population of organisms of the same species | |
| Noodles have different colors and shapes | Different physical expressions of traits within the population | Variation within a population | |
| 2. Students spread out 40 noodles over a small area of grass | Grass | Environment in which the population lives | |
| 3. Student approaches grass and picks up as many noodles as s/he can in 15 seconds | Students picking up noodles | Predators hunt organisms | Population constraint |
| Picked-up noodles | Hunted organisms | ||
| 4. Students calculate the number of noodles remaining in the grass | Noodles remaining in grass | Organisms that survived the hunt | |
| 5. Students double the number of noodles of each color remaining in the grass and record the new population numbers | Adding noodles | Surviving organisms reproduce | Differential reproduction |
| New numbers of colored noodles | Next generation of the population | ||
| 6. Students repeat steps 4 and 5 multiple times | Multiple rounds of picking up and adding noodles | Multiple generations | |
| 7. Students observe and graph the changing numbers of different-colored noodles throughout the simulation | Some noodles decreased after multiple rounds (orange); some noodles increased after multiple rounds (green, yellow) | Some organisms were seen more easily than others; those that blended in to the environment were more likely to survive and reproduce | |
| Percentage of different noodle types in last generation is different from initial generation | Change in overall genetic make-up of the population | Heredity | |
| . | Mapping Analog to Targets . | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Simulation Steps . | Parts of Simulation (Analog) . | What Happens in Nature (Concrete Target) . | Components of Natural Selection (Conceptual Target) . |
| 1. Students obtain a bag of 40 noodles of different colors (10 yellow, 10 orange, 10 purple, 10 green) | Bag full of 40 noodles | Population of organisms of the same species | |
| Noodles have different colors and shapes | Different physical expressions of traits within the population | Variation within a population | |
| 2. Students spread out 40 noodles over a small area of grass | Grass | Environment in which the population lives | |
| 3. Student approaches grass and picks up as many noodles as s/he can in 15 seconds | Students picking up noodles | Predators hunt organisms | Population constraint |
| Picked-up noodles | Hunted organisms | ||
| 4. Students calculate the number of noodles remaining in the grass | Noodles remaining in grass | Organisms that survived the hunt | |
| 5. Students double the number of noodles of each color remaining in the grass and record the new population numbers | Adding noodles | Surviving organisms reproduce | Differential reproduction |
| New numbers of colored noodles | Next generation of the population | ||
| 6. Students repeat steps 4 and 5 multiple times | Multiple rounds of picking up and adding noodles | Multiple generations | |
| 7. Students observe and graph the changing numbers of different-colored noodles throughout the simulation | Some noodles decreased after multiple rounds (orange); some noodles increased after multiple rounds (green, yellow) | Some organisms were seen more easily than others; those that blended in to the environment were more likely to survive and reproduce | |
| Percentage of different noodle types in last generation is different from initial generation | Change in overall genetic make-up of the population | Heredity | |