Please explain your answer 10.Which of the following is NOT true of the theory of evolution through natural selection?A.There is a struggle for limited resources.B.There is genetic variation amongst the individuals of a population.Č. Offspring inherit characteristics acquired by their parents during the parents' lifetime.D. Individuals whose inherited characteristics best fit them to the environment will (onaverage) leave more offspring.

The theory of natural selection, proposed by the naturalist Charles Darwin during the 19th century, explains a foundational mechanism of evolution through the natural process by which organisms having better adaptation to their environment have a survival advantage and reproduce more than those organisms that are less adapted. Owing to these adaptations, the traits of a population change over time. The favored traits providing survival and reproductive advantage for survival are heritable from one generation to the next. The theory of natural selection suggests that organisms that have adapted characteristics for survival in given environmental conditions are naturally selected by the environment. The selected organisms produce more offspring and, thus, also have a reproductive advantage and a higher ability to produce successive generations.This process may lead to speciation of one species giving rise to a new, distinct species. Thus, natural selection is the major process driving evolution since it is always slowly occurring. Option C is the correct answer:“Offspring inherit characteristics acquired by their parents during the parents' lifetime.”The major processes that occur during natural selection are:Presence of genetic variation within a population. Inheritance of adapted traits that favor survival and reproductive success. Competition for limited available environmental sources. Certain individuals will be able to find food, mate, and hide from predators, thus they will have a better chance to survive and reproduce. These individuals will be able to pass on their DNA.As a result of more reproduction of organisms with better-adapted traits, the resulting population commonly possesses those traits with better adaptation to their environment. These traits might be different from the initial organisms found many years ago, thus resulting in an evolved population. Offspring inherit characteristics from their parents, however, these characteristics are not the ones that are acquired by their parents during their parents' lifetime.The parents acquire those characteristics from their parents since evolution is a slow process and variations in characteristics do not occur suddenly during a lifetime. Variations in characteristics occur over a gradual period of time as a result of variation, reproduction, and inheritance over many generations. Thus, the option C is not true of the theory of evolution through natural selection. Options A, B, and C are incorrect. Option A: "There is a struggle for limited resources."As explained in Step 2, organisms compete for the limited environmental resources available for survival such as food, mate, shelter, etc The organisms who are able to find these resources have a better chance of survival and thus of reproduction. Thus, option A is true of the theory of evolution through natural selection.Option B: "There is genetic variation amongst the individuals of a population."Genetic variation forms the bases of adaptation and survival advantage. Variations are caused by random mutations in DNA that could be a result of DNA replication errors or the effect of environmental mutagen effects of certain chemicals and radiations. Certain genetic sequences may code for a trait that provides a survival advantage. Example: A mutation in the coat color of a mouse that causes the coat color to become dark. The dark coat color is not easy to spot by predators thus the mice with a mutation for dark coat color have a survival advantage and more reproductive success. This mutation will be passed on to their large number of offspring which will be inherited in the subsequent generations of offspring. Thus, option B is true of the theory of evolution through natural selection. Option D: "Individuals whose inherited characteristics best fit them to the environment will (on average) leave more offspring."As explained above, individuals with inherited characteristics that provide them with the best fitness to survive in the environment will be able to survive more and reproduce with high reproductive success. Thus, individuals with more fitness will on average produce more offspring.Option D is true of the theory of evolution through natural selection. Option C, “Offspring inherit characteristics acquired by their parents during the parents' lifetime.”, is not true of the theory of evolution through natural selection.