Download Name Darwin`s Voyage text pp. 297-301 Date Period ____ 1. What

Charles Darwin Biographical Information
Darwin’s Voyage text pp. 297-301
Period ____
Name ____________________________
Date _______________
1. What was Charles Darwin’s birth date? Death?
2. What was the name of the British naval ship that Darwin traveled on?
3. How long was the trip?
4. How old was Darwin at the time of his travels?
5. What was Darwin’s function on the voyage?
6. What was Darwin’s educational background? (hint: he had two potential careers in
mind)
7. One of Darwin’s influences Georges Cuvier. Who was Cuvier and what did he
propose?
8. Another of Darwin’s influences was Charles Lyell, a geologist. Who was Lyell and
what did he propose?
9. Define “uniformitarianism”
10. From his reading and his own observations, what did Darwin come to believe about
the age of the Earth?
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Charles Darwin Biographical Information
11. In 1835 Darwin reached the Galapagos archipelago (chain of islands), which is
located where (be as specific as possible)?
12. From what substance were the Galapagos islands formed? Why are they
considered “young” islands?
13. When the islands originally formed, they were uninhabited, yet by the time Darwin
arrived there, the islands had abundant plant and animal life. How did the organisms get
there?
14. Why are the Galapagos animals so trusting of humans?
15. To what animal does the word “galapagos” refer to in Spanish?
16. Where else did Darwin travel besides the Galapagos? List some specific places.
17. Why was Darwin reluctant to publish his theory of natural selection? What finally
made him publish it, in the end?
18. What was the title of Charles Darwin’s most famous book, which detailed his theory
of how evolution occurs? When did he finally publish it?
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Charles Darwin Biographical Information
Additional concepts:
A certain finch species (type of bird) blew over from the mainland to colonize each of the
Galapagos islands. By the time Charles Darwin reached the islands, he found that each
island was inhabited by a very similar species of finch, differing slightly from island to
island in features such as beak shape, body size, and coloration. He found similar
variations in many different animals and plants on the islands.
Darwin hypothesized that each species had initially come from:
(a) the same ancestral species; or (b) different ancestors on each island? [Pick
one]
He also hypothesized that, over many generations, each species began to vary
from island to island because... ?
This concept is best described as (a) divergent evolution; or (b) convergent
evolution? [Pick one]
“Evolution” is the theory that:
In the simple terms, explain Darwin’s basic concept of “Natural Selection”:
Extra credit:
Today, many harmful microbes have become resistant to antibiotics, and are therefore
difficult to cure. How can this be explained by natural selection?
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