Giraffes use their extremely long necks to reach the leaves high up on acacia trees, which other animals cannot reach, giving them a food source for which they have few competitors. How does this example support the theory of natural selection?

A. Eating acacia leaves would cause all giraffes with short necks to stretch over their lifetime.
B. Giraffe necks would get longer over a lifetime of stretching to reach their food, 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.

Question

Giraffes use their extremely long necks to reach the leaves high up on acacia trees, which other animals cannot reach, giving them a food source for which they have few competitors. How does this example support the theory of natural selection? 

A. Eating acacia leaves would cause all giraffes with short necks to stretch over their lifetime. 
B. Giraffe necks would get longer over a lifetime of stretching to reach their food, 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.

anonymous · Answer

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

I've eliminated A and B. D doesn't seem right. I'm thinking it's C...

anonymous · Answer

Natural selection means "Survival of the fittest"
so given this, which option has the word "survive" in?
and yes, it's C!
Thanks for trying to answer !

anonymous · Answer

Yes, I definitely know that. That's why I thought it was C. The other ones didn't make any sense. But still...C could have been worded better. It's very ambiguous, is all. Thank you for your input!

anonymous · Answer

no problem :)