Background: All of these animal behaviors are important. They help the animals get food for energy, make sure their young survive, or ensure that they, themselves, survive. Behaviors that help animals or their young survive, increase the animals’ fitness. Animals with higher fitness have a better chance of passing their genes on to the next generation. If genes control behaviors that increase fitness, the behaviors become more common in the species. This occurs through the process of evolution by natural selection.

Situation: Two bears are living in the same forest. One bear, named Teddy, often runs and is active in its daily life. The other bear, Fluffy, is lazy and hardly moves at all. Their levels of fitness are very different with Teddy having a much higher overall fitness level than Fluffy.

Question: Which bear struggles more with getting food?
Answer: Fluffy

Situation: Two bears are living in the same forest. One bear, named Teddy, often runs and is active in its daily life. The other bear, Fluffy, is lazy and hardly moves at all. Their levels of fitness are very different with Teddy having a much higher overall fitness level than Fluffy.

Question: Which bear struggles less with getting food?
Answer: Teddy

Situation: Two bears are living in the same forest. One bear, named Teddy, often runs and is active in its daily life. The other bear, Fluffy, is lazy and hardly moves at all. Their levels of fitness are very different with Teddy having a much higher overall fitness level than Fluffy.

Question: Who will make a better parent?
Answer: Teddy

Situation: Two bears are living in the same forest. One bear, named Teddy, often runs and is active in its daily life. The other bear, Fluffy, is lazy and hardly moves at all. Their levels of fitness are very different with Teddy having a much higher overall fitness level than Fluffy.

Question: Who will make a worse parent?
Answer: Fluffy

Situation: Two bears are living in the same forest. One bear, named Teddy, often runs and is active in its daily life. The other bear, Fluffy, is lazy and hardly moves at all. Their levels of fitness are very different with Teddy having a much higher overall fitness level than Fluffy.

Question: Is Fluffy more or less likely than Teddy to pass his genes on to the next generation of bears?
Answer: less

Situation: Two bears are living in the same forest. One bear, named Teddy, often runs and is active in its daily life. The other bear, Fluffy, is lazy and hardly moves at all. Their levels of fitness are very different with Teddy having a much higher overall fitness level than Fluffy.

Question: Is Teddy more or less likely than Fluffy to pass his genes on to the next generation of bears?
Answer: more

Situation: Two bears are living in the same forest. One bear, named Teddy, often runs and is active in its daily life. The other bear, Fluffy, is lazy and hardly moves at all. Their levels of fitness are very different with Teddy having a much higher overall fitness level than Fluffy.

Question: Are future bears more likely to be similar to Teddy or Fluffy?
Answer: Teddy

Situation: Two bears are living in the same forest. One bear, named Teddy, often runs and is active in its daily life. The other bear, Fluffy, is lazy and hardly moves at all. Their levels of fitness are very different with Teddy having a much higher overall fitness level than Fluffy.

Question: Are future bears less likely to be similar to Teddy or Fluffy?
Answer: Fluffy

Situation: Two bears are living in the same forest. One bear, named Teddy, often runs and is active in its daily life. The other bear, Fluffy, is lazy and hardly moves at all. Their levels of fitness are very different with Teddy having a much higher overall fitness level than Fluffy.

Question: The behavior of which bear will be removed by natural selection?
Answer: Fluffy

Situation: Two bears are living in the same forest. One bear, named Teddy, often runs and is active in its daily life. The other bear, Fluffy, is lazy and hardly moves at all. Their levels of fitness are very different with Teddy having a much higher overall fitness level than Fluffy.

Question: The behavior of which bear will not be removed by natural selection?
Answer: Teddy