Download Evolution Information

EVOLUTION
Math, science, history,
Unravelling the mystery,
It all started with the Big Bang!
Late 15th and 16th Century
The Age of Exploration
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Expansion of colonizing nations
http://bruceruiz.net/PanamaHistory/age_of_expl
oration_time_line.htm
CHURCH
Formed belief system in Europe
Principle venue for education
CREATIONISTS
Believed God’s work was perfect
Believed God made every living organism on the Earth
as well as the universe
Believed all forms of life were static – did NOT change
Believed the earth was approx. 6000 years old
**Death was punishment for all nonbelievers!
17th Century
Evidence gathered from around the world
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Huge variety of species
Fossils (how do you explain fossils if you’re a
creationist?)
Catastrophism
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Theory developed to explain fossils
Species are periodically annihilated
God creates new species
George Louis Leclerc
(1707-1788)
Believed the Earth was
75 000 years old
Founded biogeography
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Despite similar
environments, different
regions have distinct
plants and animals
Reputation destroyed
by the church
Stratification
Jean Baptiste Lamarch
(1744-1829)
Attempted to explain how
new species came into
being
Inheritance of Acquired
Characteristics
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Under extreme need,
organisms will change
Acquired traits developed
through use or disuse and
then passed on
Charles Darwin
(1809-1882)
Charles Darwin
Was part of the gentry
Training to be a doctor
Was an avid collector (plants, fossils,
rocks, etc.)
Changed mind and went into the seminary
(didn’t take his vows)
1831 – invited to participate on an
exploration vessel, S.S. Beagle
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Spent 5 years in South America and the
Pacific Islands
Collected many unique species and
fossils
Charles Darwin
Found seashells in the Andes
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Conclusion: must have been under water –
Earth must be very old
Found four different varieties of finches
on four different islands
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Each varied slightly according to the needs
of their environment
Conclusion: species are forced to evolve or
face extinction
Charles Darwin
Went against Creationists
Was concerned with being ostracized by
the church, and sat on his theories for 20
years until….
The Church of England believed evolution
would upset the natural order of society
Russell Wallace
(1823-1913)
Writes to Darwin from
Malaysia
Research contains
some of the same
conclusions as Darwin’s
Darwin and Wallace
publish joint papers
(strength in numbers)
Darwin Publishes…
On the Origins of Species, in 1859
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Research opened up debates between pro
and non Darwinists
Eventually religion seen as a matter of faith
Research seen as science
Darwin’s Observations
1. All species of plants and animals are
capable of change
2. Organisms change from generation to
generation depending on which
characteristics they inherit
3. Offspring that inherit the most useful
characteristics for a particular
environment, have increase chances for
survival
4. The individuals that survive are most
likely to leave their inheritable traits to
future generations
5. This process results in populations that
adapt to the environment over time
- eventually the new variety
becomes the new species
Darwin Called His Theory, Natural
Selection
1. There is variation in traits
Example:
Some beetles are green
and some are brown.
2. There is Differential Reproduction
- since the environment can’t support
unlimited population growth, not all
individuals get to reproduce
Example: green beetles tend
to get eaten by birds
more than brown
beetles.
3. Heredity is at work
Example: The surviving brown beetles
have brown baby beetles
because this trait has a
genetic basis
4. Environmental Advantages
The more advantageous the trait, the
more common it becomes in the
population
Example: Brown beetles become
more common until
eventually, all
beetles are brown.
If you have variation, differential
reproduction, and heredity, you will have
evolution by Natural Selection as an
outcome.
*Darwin could not explain heredity
Survival of the Fittest
What does “Survival of the fittest” mean?
- Where have you heard it?
Darwin did not use the term to refer to the
organism that was in the best physical shape
- survival is a natural prerequisite
for reproduction
- any organism that can reproduce itself will
survive, not just the fittest
Herbert Spencer
“Survival of the Fittest” was first used by
Darwin in his book
- Darwin used it to refer to species that
were better adapted to the local
environment
Herbert Spencer borrowed the term from
Darwin’s book 30 years after it was written
Herbert Spencer changed the meaning of
Darwin’s words
He belonged to the Social Darwinism
movement
- they believed that only those people with
the strongest moral character should
survive, or society would weaken
- people of strong moral character were
chosen by God
Social Darwinism was fundamentally
racist
- justified colonization
- justified greed by wealthy people
to take what they wanted with no
obligation to poor
http://www.ted.com/talks/david_gallo_sho
ws_underwater_astonishments.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nS1tEnf
kk6M