Students wanted to perform an experiment to mimic natural selection. They noted that small plants growing in the school garden h
ad projections that extended from the leaves. These projections are called trichomes. They hypothesized that the trichomes protect the plant from herbivory, when herbivores eat the leaves from the plants and cause damage. The students counted the average number of trichomes per leaf and plotted this on the top graph, shown here. They then selected parent plants that had a higher than average trichome number per leaf to pollinate, creating a new generation of plants. The distribution of average trichome number for the second generation is shown in the bottom graph. Which statements below are supported by the information shown here?
A) The trichome number is controlled by a genetic factor.
B) Directional selection occurred due to the student's experiment.
C) Herbivores can no longer consume the plants in the second generation.
D) The genotypic frequencies of the first and second generation should be identical.
E) Artificial selection can alter phenotype frequencies in as few as two generations.
