Question

millions of years ago, the ancestors of giraffes had short necks and used to eat leaves from the bushes on the ground. a genetic mutation caused one giraffes neck to be taller. this long - necked giraffe was able to eat leaves that were higher up on trees. this gave it an advantage as it was able to access more food than other giraffes. over millions of years, all of the giraffes became long - necked. which type of environmental factor caused this mutation to be inherited? (1 point)

○ exercise requirement
○ food availability
○ radiation exposure
○ polluted environment

Explanation:

The problem is about the inheritance of a giraffe's neck - length mutation. We analyze each option:

• "Exercise requirement": Giraffes' neck - length mutation inheritance isn't related to exercise. Exercise doesn't cause genetic mutations to be inherited in this context.
• "Food availability": The long - necked giraffe could access more food (leaves higher up) than short - necked ones. Over time, the trait for long necks was favored because of the food availability difference. Giraffes with long necks had a survival and reproductive advantage due to better access to food, so this factor led to the inheritance of the long - neck mutation.
• "Radiation exposure": There's no indication in the problem that radiation caused the giraffe's neck - length mutation or its inheritance.
• "Polluted environment": The problem doesn't mention a polluted environment having any role in the inheritance of the giraffe's neck - length mutation.

Answer:

B. food availability