Egyptian Origami Bird Variation and Selection Experiment

Q: Did your experiment result in better flying birds?

A: Yes, it did. Evolution is the process of variation AND selection.

Q: How did your experiment produce variation among the chicks?

A: Because the process of the coin flip and the die roll was pretty random, the "genetic defects" were also very random and it was really a game of chance. Because these two variables were so random, it usually created a lot of variation between chicks.

Q: How did you select which chick would be the parent of the next generation?
A: We went outside and flew the chicks.The one that flew the farthest became the parent bird of the next generation.
Q: Compare your youngest bird with your neighbor’s youngest bird.

A: Our final bird measurements:
 H T
3*22 3*20
    3cm 3cm

Their final bird measurements:
 H T
3*22 3*18
    3cm 3cm
Q: Compare and contrast the wings of the other bird with your own.

A: Both of our 'head' wings were 3*22 cm, and our 'tail' wings were also pretty similar - 3*18 cm and 3*20 cm. Both of both our bird's wings were places 3cm from the edge of the bird. They were, however, slightly different, as you can tell by looking at the numbers (3*18 vs 3*20).
Q: Explain why some aspects of the bird were similar or different.

A: I can't speak for why some aspects of the birds were similar, but I can justify why some aspects were different.

It would be very unlikely any of us would've had the same winning bird as the die and the coin made everything really random. 

In fact, just the fact that us and our neighbor had such similar measurements seems pretty amazing to me.
Q: Predict the appearance of your youngest bird’s descendants if…

- 1. the longest flying bird survives

A: Then, the next generation, although depending a bit on the roll of the die and the flip of the coin, would most likely have an advantage b/c of their parent's advantageous traits.

- 2. the worst flying bird survives

A: Once again, the next generation, although depending a bit on the roll of the die and the flip of the coin, would most likely have a disadvantage of some sort b/c of their parent's disadvantageous traits.

- 3. the bird whose color blends into his environment survives

A: Our teacher explained that the bird who could fly to the next oasis would be able to survive - not the one that could hide from predators. While camoflage would be a good idea in a forest or a predator-dense area, a desert really isn't one of those places and so camoflauge doesn't really make a difference; only flying distance does.

However, if we're speaking about appearance here, the bird would probably be blue to fit in with the desert sky.