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Understanding Evolution: Concepts & Evidence

The document discusses the processes of scientific inquiry, including discovery and explanatory enquiry, leading to the formulation of hypotheses and theories. It explains the theory of evolution, which posits that all current life forms have descended from ancestral species and undergone changes over time, highlighting the role of variation within species. Additionally, it outlines sources of variation and evidence supporting evolution, such as palaeontology and comparative anatomy.

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3 views2 pages

Understanding Evolution: Concepts & Evidence

The document discusses the processes of scientific inquiry, including discovery and explanatory enquiry, leading to the formulation of hypotheses and theories. It explains the theory of evolution, which posits that all current life forms have descended from ancestral species and undergone changes over time, highlighting the role of variation within species. Additionally, it outlines sources of variation and evidence supporting evolution, such as palaeontology and comparative anatomy.

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Evolution

Hypothesis and Theory

Discovery enquiry: observations are made, data or facts are collected and recorded, and then
carefully analysed. The process of arriving at a generalisation based on many observations is
called inductive reasoning.

Explanatory enquiry: Scientists look for explanations for the generalisations and facts on which
these generalisations were based. Scientists will look for explanations on occurrences and
design and carry out investigations to test if the possible explanations are correct. The possible
explanations and called hypotheses.

The process of designing an investigation to test hypotheses is called hypothesis testing and
this uses deductive reasoning. In deductive reasoning, the generalisation is used to predict a
specific result.

Theory: an explanation for something that has been observed in nature which can be supported
by facts, generalisations, tested hypotheses, models and laws.

What is Evolution?

The theory of Evolution states that all the things we see today arose from things that existed in
the path but look different because things change over a long period of time.

Biological evolution: a specific type of evolution that refers to changes that living things have
undergone over long periods of time. This means that all present life forms have descended
from and are related to those who lived in the past and that they look different because they
have been modified from one generation to another.

The theory of evolution is therefore also referred to as the theory of descent with modification.

Variation within a species

Species: a group of similar organisms that can interbreed to produce fertile offspring.

Population: Organisms of the same species occupying the same habitat at the same time and
have the ability to interbreed.

Variation: Small differences that exist between individual of a species or population.

Sources of variation

• Mutations: involve a change to the structure of the gene which leads to an altered
genotype resulting in a different phenotype.
• Crossing over: during prophase 1 of meiosis there is the exchange of genetic material
between chromatids in their homologous pairs.
• Random arrangement of chromosomes: The chromosomes arrange randomly at the
equator during metaphase and as a result in anaphase the chromosomes or chromatids
may move to the poles in different combinations.
• Random fertilisation of gametes: The egg and sperm cells produced by meiosis are
different from each other and if random fertilisation takes place, there will be different
combinations of genetic material in offspring.

Evidence of evolution.

• Palaeontology
• Comparative anatomy
• Comparative embryology
• Biogeography
• Molecular biology and genetics

Evidence from palaeontology

Palaeontology is the study of fossils. Fossils are the remains of ancient life forms preserved in
rocks, ice, tar and dried tree sap.

Scientists try to find the age of fossils by using relative and radiometric dating.

• Relative dating: the age of the fossil is worked out by trying to find out how it is related to
another fossil or geological event. Can only tell us whether a particular fossil was
formed before or after another fossil or event.
• Radiometric dating:

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