What is the primary purpose of adaptation in evolutionary terms?

The primary purpose of adaptation in evolutionary terms is to enhance the survival and reproductive success of organisms in their specific environments. This process involves the gradual accumulation of traits that provide a better fit to the ecological niche an organism occupies. Over time, these advantageous traits become more common within a population due to natural selection, which acts on variations that improve an organism's ability to obtain resources, avoid predators, or thrive in varying environmental conditions.

In contrast, gene duplication refers to a mechanism that can create genetic diversity but is not the end goal of adaptation itself. Random mutations contribute to variation but don’t inherently aim to optimize an organism’s fit to its environment. The idea of the inheritance of acquired characteristics, proposed by Lamarck, has been largely discredited in favor of modern understanding of genetic inheritance through natural selection. Adaptation specifically focuses on how organisms adjust over generations to become better suited to their environments, making choice B the most accurate representation of adaptation's purpose in evolution.