WEIT: Ch.1

Question 1

William Paley

Answer 1

philosopher known for natural theology, “watch” and conscious design

Question 2

Charles Darwin

Answer 2

Known for EVOLUTION and NATURAL SELECTION; first to use data from nature to convince people of evolution
Author of On the Origin of Species

Question 3

Darwinism - Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection

Answer 3

“Life on earth evolved gradually beginning with one primitive species - perhaps a self-replicating molecule - that lived more than 3.5 billion years ago; it then branched out over time, throwing off many near and diverse species; and the mechanism for most (but not all) of evolutionary change is natural selection.”

Question 4

Key concepts that are part of Darwinism

Answer 4

1) Evolution
2) Gradualism
3) Speciation
4) Common ancestry
5) Natural selection
6) Non-selective mechanisms of evolutionary change

Question 5

Evolution

Answer 5

• species undergoes genetic change over time (changes in DNA; mutations; over generations)

Question 6

Gradualism

Answer 6

Many generations required to produce substantial evolutionary change ( ex. reptiles to birds)

Question 7

Alfred Wegener

Answer 7

Continental drift