Download Discussion Questions: Introduction to Darwin

Introduction to Darwin: Discussion Questions
Name________________
Date__________
Period_____
Standards:
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BI.7 a. Students know why natural selection acts on the phenotype rather than
the genotype of an organism.
BI. 8. a. Students know how natural selection determines the differential survival
of groups of organisms.
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BI. 8. e Students know how to analyze fossil evidence with regard to biological diversity,
episodic speciation, and mass extinction?
Objectives: SWBAT…
 Explain how natural selection determines the differential survival of groups of
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organisms.
Analyze multiple sources of evidence for evolution.
Explain how a great diversity of species increase the chance that at least some
organisms will survive major changes in the environment
Analyze fossil evidence with regard to biological diversity, episodic speciation, and mass
extinction.
Directions:
 Open the link above: http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2009/02/the-manwho-rocked-biology-to-its-core-2/
 Read the article in small groups.
 Work with your group to answer the questions.
Questions:
1.) What did Darwin believe?
2.) What is evolution?
3.) Where did Darwin travel and what did he learn?
4.) How did Malthus’s theory on population dynamics influence Darwin?
5.) What is natural selection?
6.) What evidence did Darwin have to support his theory?
7.) What is the relationship between genetic inheritance and evolution?
8.) How are scientists’ ideas changing about evolution and natural selection?