Evolution and the History of life on earth Flashcards
f2w`what were Aristotle’s ideas regarding species?
he believed that species where static and unchanging. that all life has always existed and will continue to exist without change.
what was the Scala Naturae
a ranked scale of organisms from least to most complex, with human beings at the top.
what is “special creation”?
direct intervention from god. that god is the first cause for everything and once things are created it becomes static.
why was the discovery of fossils significant?
because fossils challenged the ideas of special creation and unchanging life.
what were the ideas of Lamarck?
Lamarck coined the term “transmutation,” which is a mutation or change through time. He believed that behaviors would change the offspring of a species based on the changes the species underwent in its own life. this was eventually proven to be false.
who was Charles Darwin? when did he live?
Charles Darwin proposed the theory of evolution. he lived 1809-1882.
what was Paley’s watchmaker argument?
the idea that if a watch exists, a watchmaker must also exist. this is applied to life, if life exists, a maker of life must also exist. that life is much too complex to be a property of chance, just as the complexity of a watch.
what significant idea did charles lyell present in his book principles of geology?
that geological structures like canyons where created over millions of years and can be seen through the different layers of rock.
how did lyell influence darwins thought?
lyell influenced how darwin perceived the changes that occur within the world, the idea that it happened gradually over millions of years.
what was puzzling about the Galapagos island species?
different species of island finches had different features depending on the island. the where adapted to their individual environments despite the islands being very close together.
what is artificial selection?
selection that is a result of human intervention. such as the development of dogs, or certain species being hunted to extinction.
what is Darwin’s theory of natural selection?
heritable variations within populations. as organisms are born into an environment, individuals with more favorable variations live on and leave offspring with the variation.
which statements are observations and which are inductions ?
Observations are the specific facts or patterns that are used in inductive reasoning, while induction is the process of using those observations to make a general conclusion:
how does natural selection differ from Lamarck’s ideas?
natural selection assumes that variations happen that are successful will be passed down due to survival. transmutation is based on the idea that behavior changes attributes and will be passed down.
when was the origin of species published?
November 24, 1859
why was Darwin reluctant to publish his ideas?
he feared religious backlash and that people would take his biological views of variations and use it to justify slavery.
what is social Darwinism?
The belief that those who are successful got there because they were the “fittest,” and that those in poverty were there based on their own failings. A justification for wealth inequality.
what was the scopes “Monkey trial”?
state of Tennessee v. john Thomas. a legal battle against john Thomas for teaching evolution in a state funded school which was illegal. this trial was actually staged to bring tourism into Dayton county.
what are phylogenic trees?
a diagram showing evolutionary relationship among organisms.
How does the fossil record contribute to our understanding of evolution? Examples?
The fossil records show the relationship between species. a whale and the way it moves is related to the fact that it began as a land mammal.
what is the law of superposition?
The geologic principle that states that in horizontal layers of sedimentary rock, each layer is older than the layer above it and younger than the layer below it.
where is the gray fossil site?
Miocene deposit near Johnson city Tennessee. It is a sinkhole the animals would attempt to drink from and then fall in. It’s a tomb of organisms that lived a couple of million years ago.
