Question

rock pocket mice
introduction: read the introduction below and answer the questions after.
rock pocket mice
a typical rock pocket mouse is about 170 millimeters long from its nose to the end of its
tail, shorter than an average pencil. and at just 15 grams, this tiny mouse weighs about as much
as a handful of paper clips. rock pocket mice, however, have had an enormous impact on
science. whats so special about them? you can find populations of rock pocket mice all over the
sonoran desert in the southwestern united states. there are two common varieties of these
mice — a light - colored variety and a dark - colored variety. there are also two major colors of
substrate, or surface materials, that make up the desert floor. most of the desert is covered in
light - colored sand and rock. however, there are also patches of dark volcanic rocks that formed
from cooling lava flows. these patches of dark - colored substrate are often separated by several
kilometers of light - colored substrate.

1. what animals are we studying? __________ where do they live? __________
2. what genetic variation (differences) is present in the mice?
3. what environmental variation (differences) is there in the desert?
4. what color fur do you think is adaptive for living on the sand? ____ the lava? ____

Explanation:

Question 1

For the first blank, the text starts with "Rock Pocket Mice" and the introduction is about them, so the animal is rock pocket mice. For the second blank, the text says "You can find populations of rock pocket mice all over the Sonoran Desert in the southwestern United States", so that's their location.

The text states "There are two common varieties of these mice — a light - colored variety and a dark - colored variety", so this is the genetic variation (difference in fur color) present in the mice.

From the text: "There are also two major colors of substrate, or surface materials, that make up the desert floor. Most of the desert is covered in light - colored sand and rock. However, there are also patches of dark volcanic rocks that formed from cooling lava flows." So the environmental variation is in the substrate color, with light - colored sand/rock and dark volcanic rock patches.

Answer:

What animals are we studying? Rock pocket mice
Where do they live? The Sonoran Desert in the southwestern United States

Question 2