EVOLUTION

1) How did an understanding of the theory of evolution enable Shubin to predict the age and type of

sedimentary rock in which he would find Tiktaalik?

 

Shubin knew when the lobe-finned fish actually existed and when the first land vertebrae existed. That allowed Shubin to predict age of the rock through restriction. He knew that the rock must be in-between the year the lobe-finned fish existed and when the tetrapod's existed so he knew that the age must have been between 390mya and 360 mya. He decided that the age must have been approximated 375 mya.

 

2) Why did Shubin look for fossils in Canada's North?

Shubin found 3 suitable deposits in North America. The other deposits were too difficult to reach because they were over half a kilometer underground. He then went through the 3 deposits and found that 2 of the deposits were explored in the past and the deposit not explored was in Canada's North.

 

4) Some fish have primitive lungs. Do you think Tiktaalik hand lungs in addition to gill? Why or why not? Use the internet and other sources to check your predictions.

 

I believe the Tikaalik had lungs and gills because it was a transitional form. It could survive in both land and sea. For it to survive in sea it must have gills and to survive on land it must have lungs.

 

5) Articles submitted to the science journal Nature undergo a rigorous per review process before being accepted. What is the benefit of such a process? Why would scientists not publish their findings in journals that do not require a review?

Scientists would not publish findings in journals that do not require a review because it reduces credibility. By having a review, scientists would allow other people to review their findings and find other loopholes and ways to fix the article. Creating a scientific finding takes weeks and even years of research, and if you publish a finding without a review and people find errors after it is published, you can lose your credibility as a scientist and even if you fix it, you can still lose your credibility.