Evolution is

• A. The process of the development of living organisms as they adapt to the environment
• B. A movement of tectonic plates
• C. A change in climate
• D. The origin of life from nonliving matter

Answer: (A)

Evolution is the change in inherited traits in a population over many generations, driven by variation and differential survival and reproduction. This leads to adaptation to the environment and, over long timescales, to new species. The best choice describes evolution as the development of living organisms as they adapt to the environment, because it captures how populations change over generations in response to environmental pressures. It’s not about moving tectonic plates, nor about climate change alone, nor about the origin of life from nonliving matter. Remember that individuals don’t evolve in a lifetime; populations do.