I read this background article the other day: The theory of evolution by natural selection was proposed at about the same time by both Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, shown in Figure below , and was set out in detail in Darwin's 1859 book On the Origin of Species . Natural selection is a process that causes heritable traits that are helpful for survival and reproduction to become more common, and harmful traits, or traits that are not helpful or advantageous for survival to become more rare in a population of organisms. This occurs because organisms with advantageous traits are more "fit" to survive in a particular environment and have "adapted" to the conditions of that environment. These individuals will have greater reproductive success than organisms less fit for survival in the environment. This will lead to an increase in the number of organisms with the advantageous trait(s) over time. Over many generations, adaptations occur through a combination of successive, small, random changes in traits, and natural selection of those variants best-suited for their environment. Natural selection is one of the cornerstones of modern biology. I am facing a new situation today: David wants to revisit the theory of evolution proposed by Darwin and Wallace. He is particularly interested in two species of deer, species A and species B. Species A has some helpful traits, but species B has some harmful traits. He is planning to write a paper on why some species are greater in number while others are smaller in number. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which species' traits would be more common, species A or species B?
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Answer: species A

I read this background article the other day: A) In a straight-chain molecule, all the carbon atoms are lined up in a row like cars of a train. The carbon atoms form the "backbone" of the molecule. B) In a branched-chain molecule, at least one of the carbon atoms branches off from the backbone. C) In a cyclic molecule, the chain of carbon atoms is joined at the two ends to form a ring. Each ring usually contains just five or six carbon atoms, but rings can join together to form larger molecules. A cyclic molecule generally has higher boiling and melting points than straight-chain and branched-chain molecules. I am facing a new situation today: Mark works as a scientist for a molecular research institute. Today, he has three samples of molecule in front of him, sample A, sample B, and sample C. Sample A is a straight-chain molecule; sample B is a branched-chain molecule; and sample C is a cyclic molecule. Mark's job is to determine the characteristics of each sample. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: In which sample the chain of carbon atoms would not form a ring, sample B or sample C?
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Answer: sample B

I read this background article the other day: Because of human activities, there is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today than in the past hundreds of thousands of years. Burning fossil fuels and has released great quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Cutting forests and clearing land has also increased carbon dioxide into the atmosphere because these activities reduce the number of autotrophic organisms that use up carbon dioxide in photosynthesis. In addition, clearing often involves burning, which releases carbon dioxide that was previously stored in autotrophs. I am facing a new situation today: Thanks to environmental initiatives, Quebec has grown a large number of forests recently that are densely populated with tall trees. At the same time, Ottawa has been cutting down large numbers of trees in their forests and clearing the land to make room for housing developments and new construction sites. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which city, Quebec or Ottawa, has increased their number of autotrophic organisms?
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Answer:
Quebec