EVOLUTION

Think and Discuss:

 

The scientific definitions of those terms vary significantly. For instance, the word theory in regular English is basically a guess and doesn’t really mean much. However a theory in science is something that scientists may work their entire lives to create. For something to be considered a theory in science, extensive research must be done on the other hand a theory in regular English can take a second to create. The terms that we discussed in science tend to involve a lot of research. Almost all of those terms involved some sort of investigation or some sort of observation. That isn't the case for those terms in regular English.

 

This causes a lot of confusion with the Theory of Evolution because a lot of people associate a theory with a guess. So they feel that there isn't much evidence supporting Evolution because it is just a guess. However that isn't the case because there is a ton of evidence supporting Evolution. People often don't take the time to research and learn about Evolution because they feel that it is just a guess rather than actual observations. Other examples of Theory include the Theory of Gravity, and the Big Bang Theory. Those theories involve a lot of research and also involve a lot of observations for example, observing an apple falling to the ground, or observing the fact that the universe is still expanding.

 

Watch/Make Notes:

 

What is a Evolution? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhHOjC4oxh8

 

• The theory explains how life evolved from a simple cell rather than how life actually originated

• Evolution is, : Any change in the heritable traits (physical traits/behaviours) within a population across generations

• Errors in DNA can occur and will change the code resulting in a mutation

• That error can be passed on to the offspring, however harmful mutations don't get passed for too long because the host will often die before being able to reproduce

• All dogs originated from gray wolves and the evolution of those wolves happened after humans bred the wolves with desirable traits and kept the puppies with desirable trait

 

​Do:

Evolution: Mutation and Selection Gizmo

• Fitness describes how well an organism can survive and reproduce in an environment

• A white background results in 100% average fitness a black background results in 0% average fitness

• As you allow the simulation to run, organisms adapt to the environment with the black background and over time the average fitness goes from 0% to 100 %

• Mutations will occur in the organisms DNA to allow it to survive in an environment where it is normally difficult for the organism to survive in

 

Reflect/Journal:

 

In chapter 7.2 I was exposed to the different theories that scientists had about evolution. I am always astonished when I read about how much scientists had been able to do in previous centuries without the technology we have today. I thought it was really cool that Charles Darwin's grandfather was also a scientist that proposed a really important idea that still stands today which is the fact that all life might have evolved from a single source. I learned about Lamarck's Use and Disuse principle which sadly isn't true because if it was true I would have 2 eyes instead of 4. I learned about the process of fossilization and one of the things I leaned was that fossils of sea life are found in mountains. I found that really cool because it ties in with how mountain ranges were created.