Natural Selection Flashcards
What is the theory of natural selection?
That if animals are better adapted they are more likely to survive, use to explain evolution.
What is the basic sequence of natural selection?
1) Variation within the species
2) Intraspecific competition for resources
3) Survival of the fittest
4) Reproduction to pass on successful adaptations
How does natural selection form a new species?
If different groups of organisms can’t mate for a long period of time, either through behavioural or geographical isolation.
Why is it difficult to study natural selection?
It usually happens over a long period of time.
What are some modern examples of natural selection?
- Bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics
- Dark and light peppered moths being better camouflaged in different areas, avoiding predators.
Why did many people disagree with Charles Darwin’s theory at first?
- Lack of evidence
- Belief that God created all species
Why is his theory widely accepted now?
- It explains many observations
- It has been tested by many scientists
What was Jean Baptiste de Lamarck’s theory?
The law of acquired characteristics, where certain characteristics that were acquired during an organism’s lifetime were passed on.
Why do we know Jean Baptiste de Lamarck’s theory to be wrong?
Because of modern knowledge of genes.
