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Natural Selection

Natural Selection. Darwin’s Big Idea.

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Natural Selection

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  1. Natural Selection Darwin’s Big Idea

  2. Charles Darwin (born February 12, 1809) was a British scientist. He sailed around the world as a naturalist, recording what he saw. He made important observations and connections that no scientist had figured out before. You will read more about his discoveries tomorrow.

  3. Natural Selection • The Theory of Natural Selection is so simple that anyone can misunderstand it…. (Anonymous) • Charles Darwin (1809-1882) saw three problems in need of a solution. • Darwin was not the only one to notice these problems. • Other scientists, including Alfred Russel Wallace, shared ideas with Darwin and contributed to figuring out the solution.

  4. Problem #1 • Living things on Earth change over time. • The fossil record shows that in the past there were a lot of plants and animals that are now extinct.

  5. Problem #2 • Living things could be classified into different categories. • People were big into classifying stuff. • It was pretty obvious that there was a relationship between different species. • Different birds, different grasses, different cats etc

  6. Problem #3 • Living things have adaptations. • Different kinds of teeth for different animals, say carnivore ripping teeth and herbivore grinding teeth • Different tissues within species • Heart vs. eye etc.

  7. The Solution! • Darwin figured out a theory that made sense of all of these problems. • He called it Natural Selection.

  8. Darwin’s Logic • Fact 1: Species reproduce exponentially. • Fact 2: Populations stay constant. • Fact 3: Resources are limited. • Inference 1: There must be competition to survive.

  9. Darwin’s Logic • Fact 4: Individuals in a population vary. • Fact 5: Variations are inherited genetically. • Inference 2: Some individuals have traits that help them survive better than others (natural selection). • Inference 3: Over time adaptations accumulate in a populations, creating different species (evolution).

  10. How does it work? • Selection determines which individuals grow up and have babies. • This selection is done by the environment. • The individuals who are best fit to their environment survive and reproduce. • They pass these fit traits on to their offspring.

  11. The Solution • “Descent with modification from a common ancestor, NOT random modification, but, modification shaped by natural selection.” • Darwin

  12. Misconceptions • Lamarckism • Traits that you develop during your lifetime can be passed on. • Giraffes really wanted leaves, so they stretched their necks and….. • Correction: Individuals cannot evolve.

  13. Misconceptions • There is a plan or goal to evolution. Organisms can change because the want to. • Correction: Traits change because of genetics mutations that happen by chance.

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