Lamarck noticed that giraffes used their extremely long necks to reach the leaves high up on acacia trees, which other animals could not reach, giving them a food source for which they had few competitors. In developing his theory about natural selection, what did Lamarck infer from this observation?

Question

anonymous · Answer

A. All giraffes were born with short necks, but eating acacia leaves would cause them to stretch over a lifetime.
B. Giraffe necks would get longer over a lifetime of stretching, and their offspring would inherit the longer necks of their parents.
C. Only the giraffes with the longest necks would survive and be able to produce offspring.
D. The first giraffe to evolve had a long neck and passed the trait to its offspring with no further change in the species since.

anonymous · Answer

Lamarck usually known for his inheritance of acquired characteristics.  He asserted, amongst other things, that characteristics that were acquired throughout one's lifetime would be inherited by the offspring.

In other words, as certain body parts/traits were exercised, they would become more developed.  I don't want to come out and give the answer to the giraffe answer, but I can give you another example of Lamarckism. 

As a blacksmith does his work, he will develop more and more upper body strength.  When he has children, will automatically have this increased upper body strength when they mature.

What do you think the answer is?

anonymous · Answer

i dont think so, i think the answer to the question is b, am i right?

anonymous · Answer

Exactly right, very good!

anonymous · Answer

thank u