The claim that giraffes evolved longer necks to reach tall trees is:

The claim that giraffes evolved longer necks to reach tall trees is:

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Not stated
• D. Cannot be determined

Answer: (B)

The idea being tested is that evolution doesn’t have a purpose or goal. Saying giraffes evolved longer necks to reach tall trees implies a deliberate reason behind the change. In reality, traits spread because individuals with inherited variations have better chances to survive and reproduce in their environment. A longer neck could provide advantages in feeding, allowing access to more foliage and possibly helping in competition with others, so those genes become more common over generations. But there isn’t a conscious objective to “reach tall trees”; the trait would have mattered for survival and reproduction in several ways, not to fulfill a single stated purpose. That teleological framing is why the statement is marked false.

The idea being tested is that evolution doesn’t have a purpose or goal. Saying giraffes evolved longer necks to reach tall trees implies a deliberate reason behind the change. In reality, traits spread because individuals with inherited variations have better chances to survive and reproduce in their environment. A longer neck could provide advantages in feeding, allowing access to more foliage and possibly helping in competition with others, so those genes become more common over generations. But there isn’t a conscious objective to “reach tall trees”; the trait would have mattered for survival and reproduction in several ways, not to fulfill a single stated purpose. That teleological framing is why the statement is marked false.