Biology - Mod 3 Syllabus

What are the four subtopics?

1. Effects of the Environment on Organisms

2. Adaptations

3. Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection

4. Evolution – the Evidence

What is the inquiry question for Effects of the Environment on Organisms?

How do environmental pressures promote a change in species diversity and abundance?

What is the inquiry question for Adaptations?

How do adaptations increase the organism’s ability to survive?

What is the inquiry question for Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection?

What is the relationship between evolution and biodiversity?

What is the inquiry question for Evolution – the Evidence?

What is the evidence that supports the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection?

Effects of the Environment on Organisms

●      predict the effects of selection pressures on organisms in ecosystems, including:

–       biotic factors

–       abiotic factors

●      investigate changes in a population of organisms due to selection pressures over time, for example:

–       cane toads in Australia

–       prickly pear distribution in Australia

Adaptations

●      conduct practical investigations, individually or in teams, or use secondary sources to examine the adaptations of organisms that increase their ability to survive in their environment, including:    

–       structural adaptations

–       physiological adaptations

–       behavioural adaptations

●      investigate, through secondary sources, the observations and collection of data that were obtained by Charles Darwin to support the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, for example:

–       finches of the Galapagos Islands

–       Australian flora and fauna

Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection

●      explain biological diversity in terms of the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection by examining the changes in and diversification of life since it first appeared on the Earth

●      analyse how an accumulation of microevolutionary changes can drive evolutionary changes and speciation over time, for example:

–       evolution of the horse

–       evolution of the platypus

●      explain, using examples, how Darwin and Wallace’s Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection accounts for:

–       convergent evolution

–       divergent evolution

●      explain how punctuated equilibrium is different from the gradual process of natural selection

Evolution – the Evidence

●      investigate, using secondary sources, evidence in support of Darwin and Wallace’s Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, including but not limited to:  

–       biochemical evidence, comparative anatomy, comparative embryology and biogeography

–       techniques used to date fossils and the evidence produced  

●      explain modern-day examples that demonstrate evolutionary change, for example:  

–       the cane toad

–       antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria