The statement that organisms are driven to survive and reproduce and that members of the same population are born with randomly different traits which may help survival describes which concept?

• A. Theory of Evolution
• B. Natural Selection
• C. Survival of the Fittest
• D. Genetic Inheritance

Answer: (A)

Natural selection explains how evolution happens through differential survival and reproduction driven by variation in traits. In any population, individuals vary in characteristics, and some of those traits help individuals survive or reproduce more effectively in a given environment. Those with advantageous traits tend to leave more offspring, passing those traits on. Over many generations, the frequencies of the advantageous traits rise, and the population evolves. The statement captures both random variation and the idea that some traits improve fitness, which is exactly the process of natural selection. The broader idea that populations change over time is the theory of evolution, but the mechanism described here is natural selection.