Natural Selection

Christy Atangana 703 Science HW
“What is Natural Selection?” p. 104&105
Qs 1-4 (in the text) and 1-5 (after the text)

1. The evidence that shows that organisms have evolved throughout Earth’s history is the fossil record. The fossil record manifests that that there was change during the course of Earth’s history. 2. The reason why I think Lamarck’s hypothesis was proven wrong is because there was more evidence that proves it was wrong than right. In the beginning, Lamarck did not have much proof to his hypothesis, which was the first giraffes had short necks and eat grass. Eventually, his hypothesis was proven wrong. 3. Darwin thought the finches might have had a common ancestor because the different finches shared similar traits. He noticed that the finches he studied had a differently shaped beak. He realized that each beak was adjusted to eating a certain type of food. Despite the different shaped beak, their other qualities were alike. 4. Overproduction- Overproduction is one of the main ideas of the theory of natural selection. Overproduction is when each species produce more offspring than can last. Not all of the organisms can make it because of competition over food and space.
Struggle for Existence- Struggle for Existence is when the offspring of each generation go against each other for materials they need in order to survive. Only a few organisms live long enough to produce more organisms. The others die.
Variation- Variation is when the offspring in each generation have a slight difference between them physically. Differences within the traits among individual of a species is called a variation. For example, one offspring might have a thicker coat of fur than a different offspring.
Survival of the Fittest- Survival of the Fittest means that some of the variation that the offspring received suited the environment better. These organisms tend to survive and reproduce.
Evolution of New Species- Evolution of New Species means that the organisms with the favorable variation made it and reproduced. The organisms passed on the favorable trait to the offspring in the next generation. Over a course of many generations, these changes can result to the presence of a new species.

(Questions After Article)

1. Natural selection is a theory of evolution.
2. The idea which states that a species produces more offspring than can survive is called overproduction.
3. Individuals with favorable variations survive and reproduce.
4.One of the differences between Lamarck and Darwin’s theory is that Darwin’s theory has not been proven incorrect. Also, Darwin’s theory had different parts to his theory. Lamarck only had one straightforward theory.
5. One way Darwin would explain why giraffes have long necks could be due to a variation. The long neck could have been the favorable variation that had appeared generation after generation. With the giraffe having the long neck, it allowed for them to find some way of survival, and they have survived because we still see them today.