Evolution

flat =Introduction= Another name for evolution is the Unifying Theory of Biology. If we used this term it might not be as controversial as evolution. Why do some people oppose evolution? This is not a new debate. Most biologists believe there is no understanding of animals and biology without using Evolution to explain why organisms are the way they are. When you break down the evidence of how organisms on the Earth are connected, it does become a unifying theory.

=Evolution webquest= In this Evolution WebQuest you will investigate a variety of types of evidence for evolution. Your team will be responsible for learning about fossil evidence, structural evidence, and genetic evidence for evolution and presenting this information to the class.

Use the following site to summarize in your own words the 4 basic principles of Evolution: http://www.agiweb.org/news/evolution/darwinstheory.html
 * Part I. Darwin**

Play Darwin's Evolution game. Answer the following questions: 1. What does “survival of the fittest” mean?

2. How would you describe your starting environment? What kinds of landforms are present? What kind of vegetation is there? Anything else that is noteworthy?

3. Draw your 3 starting variants of your species and describe why you chose the ones that you did in the table below. What advantages did you think they might have over some of the other options? 4. Repeat the above until you make it to 1,000,000 years!!
 * = Picture of variant ||= Reason for choice ||

5. Once your species has succeeded, take the quiz on the site and record the answers to 1-10. For number 11, record the name of the guy pictured on the right page.

Report on the basic information for each of the below and be sure to record examples of that evidence with specific examples and information: 1. Paleontology: The Fossil Record 2. Morphology: Comparing Anatomy and Molecules Between Species 3. Embryology: Early embryos show evolutionary relationships (Anatomic record) 4. Biogeography: examples of Evolution within Modern Species 5. Blood proteins/biochemistry 6. DNA/RNA and chromosome structure 7. Adaptations 8. Give examples of the patterns of evolution: @http://bioweb.cs.earlham.edu/9-12/evolution/HTML/converge.htmlTML/converge.html 9. How do Scientists classify organisms? Check out three organisms here. 10. How does evolution affect your daily life?: @http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/evolution/evolution-your-life.html
 * Part II. Evidence of Evolution**
 * Homologous structures
 * Vestigial structures
 * Comparing DNA between species
 * Galapogos Finches
 * Peppered Moths
 * Divergent
 * Convergent
 * Coevolution

Evolution Evolution in Action - play the game and discuss the changes that you made and what happened in the game.
 * Part III. Evolution and Natural Selection**

Natural Selection Play the game and answer the following: 1. Which insect is easier to eat? Why? 2. Over time what happens to the blue insects in the population as compared to the green insects? 3. If you eat all of the blue insects and there are no more left to pass on the blue gene, what happens to that gene? 4. If you and your species need the blue insect to survive and it is now extinct, what happens to your species?

=Resource notes= = = =Evolution theory activity= Research and answer the questions in this document:

=Evolution study guide=