Life Science - Chapter 10

Evolution

Definition of the WORD evolution

the changing of a thing to become improved or more complex

theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics

a method of biological evolution that says that acquired (gained) CHARACTERISTICS are traits that are caused by an organism’s environment

According to the theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics, what would children inherit from their parents if their parents pierced their ears or were trained to run fast?

Their children would inherit holes in their ears and would automatically run fast too.

mutation theory of evolution

only MUTATIONS could produce the necessary genes for biological evolution

If biological evolution is to take place, what must mutations form?

NEW genes

What type of mutations are NOT passed onto kids?

somatic mutations

What type of mutations ARE passed onto kids?

germ mutations

What type of mutations occur the MOST?

somatic mutations. Only a small percentage are germ mutations.

What type of mutations could be useful to biological evolution?

germ mutations, the least common type of mutation

For De Vries mutation of evolution theory to work well, an organism would have to ____.

mutate easily

Darwin’s points in his theory of natural selection

1. more young are produced than can remain alive

2. Individuals in a species compete with each other for available resources

3. The Indviduals with the BEST characteristics to obtain (get) the resources they need will survive

Why is it hard to find a complete and uninterrupted fossil record?

Sediment has to cover organic material in order for the long fossilization process to begin. Most organisms decompose before this can happen.

Archaeopteryx

an extinct bird

biological evolution

the gradual change of ONE kind of organism INTO another

common ancestor

an organism that evolutionists claim has different groups of organisms as its offspring

evolution-mutation theory

changes in an organism’s genetic makeup account for evolutionary changes

fossil record

a record of past living things

germ mutation

a genetic CHANGE that CAN BE passed down to offspring (children)

HMS Beagle

the ship Darwin sailed on

What disproved the inheritance of acquired characteristics?

When the cut off mice’s tails on many generations and the offspring (children), STILL grew tails. According to this theory, they shouldn’t have grown tails because the parents were cut off for several generations.

missing link

an organism that probably never existed but is NEEDED to fill out the evolutionary PATH of other organisms

mutation-selection theory

a theory that is also known as Neo-Darwinsm

Pteranodon

from Ancient Greek, is a genus of pterosaur that included some of the largest known flying reptiles, with P. longiceps having a wingspan of over 6 m. They lived during the late Cretaceous geological period of North America in present-day Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, South Dakota and Alabama.

Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria

The ships that Columbus sailed on

somatic mutation

a genetic change that can be passed down to offspring

theory of natural selection

the idea that the environment destroys organisms that are less able than others to live in the environment

industrial melanism

the theory that organisms change to a darker color because human activity causes their surroundings to become darker

Galapagos

islands where Darwin observed animals

evolutionary family tree

a diagram demonstrating that supposed stages of biological evolution

homologous structures

SIMILAR structures that evolutionists say are best explained by COMMON ancestry

What modern animal supposedly descended from Pakicetus and Ambuloctus?

whale

How are natural selection and selective breeding similar?

Breeding is similar to natural selection in a few ways. The main idea of how it works is the same: The animals with the needed traits are able to reproduce, so in the next generation these traits are more common in the population. Mutations which enhance these traits are selected for, and they are also passed on.

natural selection

is a mechanism of evolution. Organisms that are more ADAPTED to their environment are more likely to survive and PASS ON the genes that aided their success. This process supposedly causes species to change and diverge over time.

For natural selection to work, what would need to already be true?

characteristics in organisms would already have to exist in them

theory of evolution

based on the idea that all species are related and gradually change over time.

The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection

Book written by Charles Darwin.

Why are acquired traits not passed on to offspring?

They do not change traits, and it is GENES that are passed on.

3 key points of the mutation-selection theory

1. Mutations supply NEW traits.

2. Organisms produce more offspring than can survive.

3. Selection allows only those with the BEST traits to survive.

common ancestor

represents a parent of SEVERAL different groups of organisms at the base of evolutionary family trees

homology

the study of homologous structures

trilobites

an usual group of arthropods

Reasons why the theory of biological evolution is NOT supported by the fossil record.

1. NOWHERE on earth is there a complete and uninterrupted series of fossil layers

2. Missing links and common ancestors are NOT represented by fossils

3. Much evidence supports the idea of the layers of fossils being laid down over a SHORT period of time; therefore most of the fossilized organisms lived during the SAME period of time.

Where do evolutionist say the oldest fossils are found?

at the BOTTOM

How could the Genesis Flood have been the cause for most of the fossils?

It would have buried many organisms quickly.