What is the process of natural selection and how does it contribute to evolution?

Natural selection is a process that occurs in nature and is the mechanism by which evolution occurs. It is the process by which certain traits or characteristics become more or less common in a population over time. The individuals that are best adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and pass on their traits to their offspring, which means that over time, those traits become more common in the population.

There are three key components of natural selection:

• Variation: Within any population, there is genetic variation, meaning that individuals have different traits or characteristics.
• Selection: In each generation, some individuals are more likely to survive and reproduce than others based on their traits.
• Heritability: Traits that lead to greater reproductive success are passed on to offspring.

Over time, the combination of these three factors results in the evolution of a population. The traits that are best suited to the environment become more common, while those that are less suited become less common.