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Chapter 15 Darwins Theory of Evolution

Summary
151 The Puzzle of Lifes
Diversity
Geologists James Hutton and Charles
Lyell argued that Earth is many millions of
years old. They also argued that the
processes that changed Earth in the past
were the same as the processes that are still
changing Earth in the present. Knowing
that Earth could change over time helped
Darwin realize that life might change as
well. Knowing that Earth was very old convinced Darwin that there had been enough
time for life to evolve.
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck was one of the
first scientists to recognize that evolution
has occurred and that organisms are
adapted to their environment. To explain
evolution, Lamarck hypothesized that an
organism could gain or lose traits during its
lifetime by using or not using organs. He
also hypothesized that these changes could
be passed on to the organisms offspring
and eventually change the species. Scientists now know that some of Lamarcks
hypotheses about evolution are incorrect.
However, his general ideas about evolution
and adaptation are correct, and they influenced Darwin.
Another important influence on Darwin
was the economist Thomas Malthus.
Malthus thought that if the human population continued to grow unchecked, it would
run out of living space and food. Darwin
realized that this was true of all organisms
and not just humans.

The theory of evolution can explain the

diversity of life on Earth. Evolution, or
change over time, is the process by which
modern organisms have descended from
ancient organisms. A scientific theory is an
explanation of natural events that is supported by evidence and can be tested with
new evidence.
Charles Darwin contributed more than
any other scientist to our understanding of
evolution. During his trip on the Beagle,
Darwin made many observations and collected a great deal of evidence. He observed
tremendous diversity of organisms. He also
noticed that many plants and animals were
very well suited to their environment. Darwin collected fossils, or the preserved
remains of ancient organisms. Some of the
fossils were unlike any creatures he had
ever seen. He wondered why the species
represented by the fossils had disappeared.
Darwins observations on the Galpagos
Islands influenced him the most. The
islands are close together but have different
climates. Darwin noticed that the traits of
many organismssuch as the shell shapes
of tortoisesvaried from island to island.
Darwin wondered if animals living on different islands had once been members of
the same species.

152 Ideas That Shaped

Darwins Thinking
In Darwins day, most Europeans believed
that Earth and all its life forms had been created just a few thousand years earlier. They
also believed that species did not change
through time. Several scientists who lived
around the same time as Darwin began to
challenge these ideas. These scientists had
an important influence on the development
of Darwins theory of evolution.

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153 Darwin Presents His Case

Date ______________

Darwin presented four types of evidence in support of evolution: the fossil

record, the geographical distribution of living species, homologous structures of living
organisms, and similarities in early development, or embryology. Comparing fossils
from older and younger rock layers documents the fact that evolution has occurred.
The presence of similar but unrelated
organisms in similar environments suggests
the operation of natural selection. Homologous structures have different mature forms
but develop from the same embryonic tissues. They provide strong evidence that
organisms have descended, with modifications, from common ancestors. Some
homologous structures no longer serve
important functions in descendants. If the
structures are greatly reduced in size, they
are called vestigial organs. The early stages,
or embryos, of many animals are very similar. These similarities also provide evidence
that the animals share common ancestors.
Scientific advances have supported most
of Darwins hypotheses. Today, evolutionary theory is called the grand unifying
theory of the life sciences. It gives insights
to all biological and biomedical sciences.

Darwin was reluctant to publish his ideas

because they were so radical. When he realized that another scientist, Alfred Russel
Wallace, had the same ideas, Darwin finally
published On the Origin of Species in 1859. In
the book, Darwin provided evidence that
evolution has occurred. He also explained
his theory for how evolution comes about.
Darwins theory was based on artificial
selection. In artificial selection, animal
breeders select for breeding only animals
with the desired traits. For example, they
select only the largest hogs or only the cows
that produce the most milk. These traits are
then passed on to the next generation.
Darwin thought that a process similar to
artificial selection occurs in nature. He called
this process natural selection. Darwins
theory of evolution by natural selection can
be summed up as follows: Individuals differ,
and some of the differences can be passed
on to their offspring. More offspring are produced than can survive and reproduce.
There is competition for limited resources,
or a struggle for existence. Individuals best
suited to their environment survive and
reproduce most successfully. In other words,
there is survival of the fittest. Fitness is the
ability to survive and reproduce in a specific
environment. It results from adaptations, or
inherited characteristics that increase an
organisms chance of survival. Only the
fittest organisms pass on their traits. Because
of this, species change over time.
Darwin argued that species alive today
are descended, with modification, from
ancestral species that lived in the past. Darwin also introduced the principle of common descent. According to this principle, all
species come from common ancestors. The
principle of common descent links all
organisms on Earth into a single tree of life.

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Chapter 15 Darwins Theory of Evolution

Section 151 The Puzzle of Lifes Diversity

(pages 369372)
Key Concepts
What was Charles Darwins contribution to science?
What pattern did Darwin observe among organisms of the Galpagos Islands?

Introduction

(page 369)

1. The process by which modern organisms have descended from ancient organisms is
called

2. A well-supported explanation of phenomena that have occurred in the natural world is

a(an)

Voyage of the Beagle

(pages 369370)

3. Circle the letter of each sentence that is true about Charles Darwin.
a. He was born in 1809.
b. He was an English naturalist.
c. He was 42 when he began the voyage on the Beagle.
d. The voyage lasted five years and took him around the world.
4. Label the Galpagos Islands on the map below.
British
Isles
North
America

Europe
Asia

Atlantic
Ocean

Pacific
Ocean
Africa

South
America

Australia
Cape
Horn

Cape of
Good Hope

Darwins
voyage
0
0

N
W

New
Zealand

2000 km
1000 mi

5. Is the following sentence true or false? Darwin was looking for a scientific explanation
for the diversity of life on Earth.
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Darwins Observations

Class __________________

Date ______________

(pages 370372)

6. Circle the letter of each observation that Darwin made.

a. An enormous number of species inhabit Earth.
b. Many organisms seem to be poorly suited to their environment.
c. The same sorts of animals are always found in the same ecosystems in different parts
of the world.
d. Some species that lived in the past no longer live on Earth.
7. The preserved remains of ancient organisms are called

8. As Darwin studied fossils, what new questions arose?

9. How did Darwin explain differences in shell shape of tortoises from Hood Island and
Isabela Island?

10. Darwin observed that small brown birds on the Galpagos Islands differed in the
shape of their

The Journey Home

.
(page 372)

11. What did Darwin think about on his journey home to England?

12. After he returned to England, what hypothesis did Darwin develop to explain his
findings?

Reading Skill Practice

You can focus on the most important points in a section by turning the headings into
questions and then trying to find the answers as you read. For each heading in
Section 151, first write the heading as a how, what, or why question. Then, find and
write the answer to your question. Do your work on a separate sheet of paper.

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Section 152 Ideas That Shaped Darwins

Thinking (pages 373377)
Key Concepts
How did Hutton and Lyell describe geological change?
According to Lamarck, how did species evolve?
What was Malthuss theory of population growth?

An Ancient, Changing Earth

(pages 374375)

1. Two scientists who helped Darwin and others recognize how old Earth is were
___________________________ and ___________________________.
2. Circle the letter of each idea that was proposed by James Hutton.
a. Earth is a few thousand years old.
b. Layers of rock are moved by forces beneath Earths surface.
c. Most geological processes operate extremely slowly.
d. The processes that changed Earth in the past are different from the processes that
operate in the present.
3. Circle the letter of each sentence that is true about Lyells work.
a. His book, Principles of Geology, was published after Darwin returned from his voyage.
b. His work explained how awesome geological features could be built up or torn down
over long periods of time.
c. His publications helped Darwin appreciate the significance of the geological
phenomena that he had observed.
d. He stressed that scientists must explain past events in terms of processes that they can
actually observe.
4. In what two ways did an understanding of geology influence Darwin?

Lamarcks Evolution Hyphotheses

(page 376)

5. Is the following sentence true or false? Lamarck was among the first scientists to
recognize that living things have changed over time.
6. Is the following sentence true or false? Lamarck proposed that all organisms have an
innate tendency toward complexity and perfection.

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7. How did Lamarck propose that species change over time?

8. How did Lamarck pave the way for the work of later biologists?

9. Which step in the diagram below shows the inheritance of acquired traits as proposed
by Lamarck?

1.

2.
3.

Population Growth

(page 377)

10. Circle the letter of each sentence that is true about Thomas Malthus.
a. He was an important influence on Darwin.
b. He was an English naturalist.
c. He believed that war, famine, and disease limit the growth of populations.
d. His views were influenced by conditions in twentieth-century England.
11. Is the following sentence true or false? The overwhelming majority of a species
offspring survive.

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Section 153 Darwin Presents His Case

(pages 378386)
Key Concepts
How is natural variation used in artificial selection?
How is natural selection related to a species fitness?
What evidence of evolution did Darwin present?

Publication of On the Origin of Species

(pages 378379)

1. Is the following sentence true or false? When Darwin returned to England, he rushed
to publish his thoughts about evolution.
2. The naturalist whose essay gave Darwin an incentive to publish his own work was
___________________________.
3. Circle the letter of each sentence that is true about Darwins book On the Origin
of Species.
a. It was published in 1869.
b. It was ignored when it was first published.
c. It contained evidence for evolution.
d. It described natural selection.

Inherited Variation and Artificial Selection

(page 379)

4. Differences among individuals of a species are referred to as

5. Is the following sentence true or false? Genetic variation is found only in wild
organisms in nature.
6. Circle the letter of each sentence that is true about artificial selection.
a. It is also called selective breeding.
b. It occurs when humans select natural variations they find useful.
c. It produces organisms that look very different from their ancestors.
d. It is no longer used today.

Evolution by Natural Selection

(pages 380382)

7. What was Darwins greatest contribution?

Match each term with its definition.

Definitions

Terms
8. fitness
9. adaptation
10. natural selection

a. Any inherited characteristic that increases an

organisms chance of survival
b. Survival of the fittest
c. The ability of an individual to survive and
reproduce in its specific environment

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11. What does the phrase struggle for existence mean?

12. Is the following sentence true or false? Adaptations can be physical characteristics but
not more complex features such as behavior.
13. Explain what Darwin meant by the phrase survival of the fittest.

14. Circle the letter of each sentence that is true about natural selection.
a. It selects traits that increase fitness.
b. It takes place without human control.
c. It can be observed directly in nature.
d. It leads to an increase in a species fitness.
15. The principle that living species descend, with changes, from other species over time is
referred to as

16. The principle that all species were derived from common ancestors is known as
.

Evidence of Evolution

(pages 382385)

17. Is the following sentence true or false? Darwin argued that living things have been
evolving on Earth for thousands of years.
18. Complete the concept map.

Evidence for
Evolution
can be found in

The fossil record

19. How do fossils that formed in different rock layers provide evidence of evolution?

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20. Circle the letter of the way Darwin explained the distribution of finch species on the
Galpagos Islands.
a. They had descended with modification from a common mainland ancestor.
b. They had descended with modification from several different mainland ancestors.
c. They had remained unchanged since arriving on the Galpagos from the mainland.
d. They had become more similar to one another after arriving on the Galpagos.
21. How did Darwin explain the existence of similar but unrelated species?

22. Structures that have different mature forms but develop from the same embryonic
tissues are called

23. Is the following sentence true or false? Homologous structures provide strong evidence
that all four-limbed vertebrates have descended, with modifications, from common
ancestors.
24. Organs that are so reduced in size that they are just vestiges, or traces, of homologous
organs in other species are called

Summary of Darwins Theory

.
(page 386)

25. Circle the letter of each idea that is part of Darwins theory of evolution.
a. There is variation in nature.
b. Fewer organisms are produced than can survive.
c. There is a struggle for existence.
d. Species change over time.
26. According to Darwins theory, what happens to individuals whose characteristics are
not well suited to their environment?
27. Darwin believed that all organisms on Earth are united into a single tree of life by
________________________________________.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Evolutionary Theory

28. What is the status of Darwins hypotheses today?

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(page 386)

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Chapter 15 Darwins Theory of Evolution

Vocabulary Review
Crossword Puzzle Complete the puzzle by entering the term that matches each numbered
description.
Down
1. geologist who influenced Darwin
2. inherited characteristic that increases an
organisms chance of survival
4. type of selection in which humans
select the variations
5. islands where Darwin observed
variation in tortoises
6. ability of an individual to survive and
reproduce in its specific environment
8. type of selection Darwin referred to as
survival of the fittest
9. structures that have different mature
forms but develop from the same
embryonic tissues
11. scientist whose ideas about evolution
were the same as Darwins
13. geologist who influenced Darwin

Across
1. scientist whose ideas about evolution
and adaptation influenced Darwin
3. ship on which Darwin traveled
7. change over time
10. explanation of natural events that is
supported by evidence and can be
tested with new evidence
12. economist whose ideas about human
population influenced Darwin
14. remains of ancient life
15. homologous structure that is greatly
reduced in size

10

11

12

13

14

15

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