Overview
In this lesson, students will be introduced to the 'anchoring phenomenon' of rock pocket mice, specifically how the color of the fur coat changed because of the change in the environment where they live. Students will explore a computational model of a population of rock pocket mice and observe changes in the population over time.
Underlying Pages
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0. Student Directions -
Preview as Student
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1. The curious case of Rock Pocket Mice -
Preview as Student
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2. Introduction to the Computational Model -
Preview as Student
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3. Can we use this model to investigate what might have happened in American Southwest? -
Preview as Student
Standards
Next Generation Science Standards
- Life Science
- NGSS Crosscutting Concept
- NGSS Practice
Computational Thinking in STEM
- Data Practices
- Modeling and Simulation Practices
- Computational Problem Solving Practices
- Systems Thinking Practices
Acknowledgement
This lesson is based on a curricular unit developed by HHMI (https://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/making-fittest-natural-selection-and-adaptation).