Read data on a helpful trait spreading through a population
Grade 9 Science Worksheet

Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Dark moths in three generations (model data)
moths generation 1 generation 2 generation 3 dark 24 54 96 all moths 80 120 160 Ari reads the table. What percent of the moths in generation 3 are dark?
- 60%: 96 ÷ 160 = 0.60
- 40%: the light moths, 64 of 160
- 96%: the count of 96, written as a percent of the moths
- 120%: 96 ÷ 80, using the generation 1 total
Two plate samples (model data)
sample resistant all bacteria sample A 400 8,000 sample B 600 20,000 Bo compares two plate samples. Which sample has the larger percent of resistant bacteria?
- Sample B: it has 20,000 bacteria in total, more than sample A
- Sample A: 5%, compared with 3% for sample B
- Neither sample: the totals differ, so the percents cannot be compared
- Sample B: it has 600 resistant bacteria, more than the 400 in sample A
Purple plants in three generations (model data)
plants generation 1 generation 2 generation 3 purple 20 40 9 all plants 40 100 30 Esme reads the table. In which generation are purple plants the largest share of all plants?
- Generation 2: it has the most purple plants, 40
- Generation 2: it has the most plants in total, 100
- Generation 3: 9 purple of 30 plants is 90%
- Generation 1: 20 of 40 is 50%, above 40% and 30%
Resistant bacteria per 100 bacteria (model data)
round resistant per 100 round 1 20 round 2 30 Jun reads the table. By what percent did the resistant share rise from round 1 to round 2?
- 10%: the rise in percent points, called a percent
- 33%: the rise of 10 points is a third of the new 30
- 50%: the rise of 10 points is half of the 20 you started with
- 30%: the share in round 2, not the change
Dark moths per 100 moths (model data)
generation dark moths per 100 generation 1 40 generation 2 60 Kira reads the table. Which sentence describes the change from generation 1 to generation 2 correctly?
- It rose 50 percent points, which is a 20% increase on 40
- It rose 20 percent points, which is a 50% increase on 40
- It rose 20 percent points, which is a 33% increase on 60
- It rose 20 percent points, which is a 20% increase on 40
Light moths per 100 moths (model data)
generation light moths per 100 generation 1 50 generation 2 20 Luz reads the table. By what percent did the light share fall from generation 1 to generation 2?
- 60%: the fall of 30 points is 60% of the 50 you started with
- 40%: the share left, 20 of the 50 you started with
- 30%: the fall in percent points, called a percent
- 150%: the fall of 30 points is 150% of the new 20
Moths before breeding: each survivor leaves 2 young like itself (model data)
moth color generation 1 survive to breed (percent) dark 50 60 light 50 20 Milo predicts generation 2 from the rule in the title. What percent of generation 2 will be dark?
- 50%: both colors started with 50 moths
- 30%: the count of dark survivors, written as a percent
- 60%: the survival percent of the dark moths
- 75%: 30 dark survivors out of 40 survivors
Dark moths in a small woodland of 20 moths (model data)
generation dark moths dark percent generation 1 10 50 generation 2 11 55 generation 3 9 45 generation 4 10 50 Ren reads the dark share across four generations of one small woodland. Which explanation fits the data?
- Selection: the share rose from 50% to 55%, so dark moths are favored
- Selection: the share fell from 55% to 45%, so light moths are favored
- Neither: the share cannot change while the total stays at 20 moths
- Chance: the share goes up and down and ends where it began
Tala reads the bars for a garden of 10 plants. Which explanation fits the data best?
- Selection: tall plants went up and down, so each generation favors a new height
- Selection: tall plants rose from 4 to 6 out of 10 in generations 3 to 5
- Chance: in 10 plants, a change of one plant moves the share by 10 points
- Each plant grew taller or shorter between generations, which moved the bars
Resistant bacteria per 10,000 bacteria after repeated antibiotic rounds (model data)
round resistant per 10,000 round 0 6 round 1 150 round 2 2,700 round 3 8,800 Zee reads the table of rounds. Which explanation fits the data best?
- Chance: the share jumps around between rounds with no steady direction
- The antibiotic caused resistance, raising it from 6 to 8,800 per 10,000
- Selection: resistant bacteria were already there and left more offspring each round
- Each bacterium became a little more resistant in each round of the antibiotic