


Write your homework – have it stamped
Draw a line through your Table of Contents
to separate this section of the unit & then
update it for today!
Get something to correct your Unit Test with
Date
12/16
&
12/17
Session
#
1
Activity
“The Big Question:” Warm-up on Page 1
Homework answers on page 2
Page
#
1-2
Evolution Notes
3
Natural Selection Notes & Gallery Walk
4
“THE BIG QUESTION”
Does everything evolve?
“THE BIG QUESTION PART 2”
How do we know everything evolves…what
could we use as evidence?
Take a few minutes and…
Write down any and all questions that come to your
mind about evolution - at least 10 - that you would like
answered.
•
•Leave space between your questions so that you can
answer them for homework!
• Scan the QR code I give you to take you to a website
to search the answers…or search on your own!
Evolution – The process of change
over time
 evolution can be biological or
geological
How would they be related?
Geological evolution is driven by the idea
that Earth itself has changed since it’s
formation 4.6 billion years ago.
Remember all of our previous evidence?
• Law of Uniformitarianism
•Geologic Time Scale
• Tectonic Plate Movement
• Continental Drift & Pangaea
• Law of Superposition
• Fossils



Biological evolution is driven by the
changes in Earth…living things evolve in
response to changes in their environment.
This response leads to a change in genetic
material that is passed through
generations, or the process of Natural
Selection or “Survival of the Fittest.”
There are 4 Principles of Natural Selection!
Overproduction
Definition:
When an
organism makes
more offspring
than the
environment can
support to ensure
that at least
some survive
Example:
Variation
Definition:
Naturally
occurring
differences in
traits due to
differences in
genetics -these
variations or
mutations get
passed to
offspring
Example:
Adaptation
Definition:
Inherited trait
that gives an
organism an
advantage in its
environment
over other
members of its
species
Example:
Selection
Definition:
Organisms with
an adaptation
will be
“naturally
selected” to
survive and
reproduce
passing on the
adaptation.
Example:


So how do animals and plants adapt to their
environment over time?
Elephant Adaptation Video - shows how evolution
of the Earth affects the evolution of a species
http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?gui
dAssetId=0B5B292A-983E-4327-A27DB647383BF293&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US
Objective:
- Analyze each picture to find examples of the 4
principles of Natural Selection.
Activity:
- Each photo is numbered, so…in your notebook
number 1-10. Next to each number write as
many examples of the 4 principles of Natural
Selection as you can justify!
Sea Turtle
Land Turtle
VS.
Create an additional
example that could
be added to our
gallery walk by
finding one
ORIGINAL example
of Natural Selection
that we did not talk
about in class, and
creating the
informational poster
about it!
EXAMPLE:
The warrior ant of Africa can learn to
imitate the chemical signal from other
ant colonies so they can invade and
take over undetected! This is an
example of adaptation because…



Write your homework – get it stamped!
Update your table of contents for today!
Get your homework out to be checked,
and be ready to share some of the
answers you found!
Date
12/17 &
12/18
Session
#
2
Activity
Evidence of Evolution Notes & Images
Genotype Vs. Phenotype Analysis
Page
#
5-6
7


What is evolution?
We focused on geological evolution in the last
section of this unit, so we are going to focus on
biological evolution in this section…HOW
DOES BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION HAPPEN?
 Process by which species change over time in
response to their environment.
 This response leads to a change in genetic
material that is passed through generations,
or the process of Natural Selection or
“Survival of the Fittest.”

What were the 4 Principles of
Natural Selection again?
 Would
you be selected to survive?
Let’s find out from our “Survival
of the Fittest Challenge!”



Based on the challenges of this
environment, what traits or genetic
variations are important in giving students
the physical advantage or adaptation for
survival?
What if the environmental demands
changed?
So, what can you infer about the
relationship between variations (which are
genetic) and adaptations (which are
physical advantages)?
The body structure and characteristics are
dependent on the genetic code! In other
words, the genetic variation leads to the
physical adaptation! This idea was the
basis used as evidence for evolution!
GENOTYPE – genetic code or DNA structure
PHENOTYPE – body structures and
characteristics
Now, when Charles Darwin, “The Father of
Evolution,” first proposed the idea that ALL
species descend from a common ancestor he
needed evidence to support his claim. The
major pieces of evidence can be broken
into…
1.
2.
3.
4.
Fossils
Embryology
Comparative Anatomy
Molecular Biology
HUH? What does all that mean?
It means that we use both the genetic
characteristics and physical characteristics to
as evidence to determine how a species has
evolved and how they are related to each
other!
GENOTYPE – genetic code or DNA structure
 molecular biology
PHENOTYPE – body structures and
characteristics
 fossils, embryology, comparative anatomy
Fossils – show change in a single
species over time or similarities
between species
Evolution of the Modern Horse
Embryology – shows similar
developmental stages amongst
different species
Embryology Challenge:
Embryos of a human, chicken, tortoise, fish,
rabbit & salamander…which one is which?
Homologous Structures – same anatomical
structure but different function that arise
from different organisms sharing a common
ancestor
Analogous Structures – different
anatomical structure but similar
function that arise from common
environmental demands
Vestigial Structures – Anatomical remnants
that were important in an organism’s
ancestors, but are no longer used in the same
way
Molecular Biology - the genetic structure of an
organism


Key to understanding how traits are passed
from one generation to the next
Scientists can tell how closely related
organisms are – the difference in gene
sequences between organisms is very small!!



Both the phenotype and genotype are useful in
determining the relationships between organisms,
but what is the relationship between them?
Complete the Genotype Vs. Phenotype Analysis
with a partner of your chosing.
Complete the Genotype Vs. Phenotype Pros &
Cons Chart for homework once you have some
experience working with both of them!



No homework over break!
Update your Table of Contents for
today!
Get your homework out to be
checked…share some of your pros &
cons!
Date
Session
#
12/20
& 1/6
3
Activity
Survival of the Fittest Scenarios & Natural Selection
Nemo Style
Page
#
8
What is the connection between
phenotypes /genotypes and Natural
Selection?
What does “Survival of the Fittest”
really mean?
In the next few scenarios, describe the
type of animal that would most likely
be “selected” to survive…
Scenario 1: Drought
- There has been a drought and all of
the grass has dries up and dies first,
but the leaves on bushes and trees
are slower to die…who survives the
longest?
Scenario 2: Predator is Approaching
- A predator is approaching the herd,
but is not hunting yet…who will
know sooner and therefore have a
better chance to escape?
Scenario 3: Predator Fight
- A predator has arrived. It is too late
to run away or hide, the animals
must fight off the predator…who
has the best chance at fighting?
Scenario 4: Blizzard
- The weather becomes very cold.
There is a blizzard and the land is
covered in snow…who survives?
Scenario 5: Volcanic Eruption
- There has been a volcanic eruption.
Lava flows down the mountain onto
the plains and kills anything in its
path…who will make it?
Classroom Challenge Mini – Lab
1.
2.
3.
4.
There are 4 utensils that need to be tested to
ensure your survival, and which habitat you are
most suitable for.
Each person will receive a utensil, you will rotate
the utensils for each round.
You will have 30 seconds to test each utensil and
then 10 seconds to record your results.
Your cup is your “stomach” and your stomach
must remain upright on the table the entire time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzlUZrt0
Ums
Keep in mind:
 The 4 Principles of
Natural Selection
 The idea of
“Survival of the
Fittest”
 Basic scientific
information
Create an
ORIGINAL
cartoon or
comic strip
that
illustrates
the idea of
“Survival of
the Fittest”


Update your Table of Contents
No homework – quiz on Evolution
scheduled for next Wednesday
Date Session
#
4/16
4
Activity
Biological Classification Notes
Page
#
8

What do we use all of this evidence for?

To build relationships between organisms and once
we have those relationships established we can use
them to build evolutionary trees and classify
organisms based on the taxonomic system

How did this evolutionary tree start?
Let’s Find Out…
http://www.wellcometreeoflife.org/video/


We know that there are many
different species on Earth, but
where did they all come from?
Speciation – over time the beneficial
variations that are passed on to the
next generation will accumulate and
the result will be an entirely different
organism (not just a variation of the
original, but an entirely new creature)

Isolation


Don’t believe that one small change
can accumulate into many…let’s try it
using Evolution Telephone
How does this game of telephone
relate to speciation?

How are we able to organize and
identify all of these different
species?
Taxonomy – biological classification
is also referred to as taxonomy – it
is a system to organize & describe
all life on Earth

What are the benefits of biological
classification (taxonomy)?
 Simple
organization
 Examine relationships between
organisms that exist now
 Construct evolutionary trees to
explore the origins of life on Earth
 Examine relationships between
modern & ancient organisms

What are the categories we use to
classify an organism?
Example:
Life form: Humans
Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Family: Hominidae
Genus: Homo
Species: Sapiens

How closely related to the other
species in our kingdom, phylum etc.
are we?
Evolutionary Tree –
also known as a
phylogenetic tree; like a
family tree but shows
the relationships
between species
branching back to
common ancestors



Technology activity Intro to Reading
Phylogenetic Trees
Practice with phylogentic trees – beetle activity
Next lesson – pull it all together “Story of the
Whippo”



Update your Table of Contents – write a
reminder about the Evolution Test next
Wednesday
Get your folder so that we can file some
quizzes!
Last few Vietnam presentations before we
go…(4th block only)
Date Session
#
4/18
5
Activity
Nothing to paste in today
Page
#
XXXX
1. Complete any remaining research or
additions for your “Big Question.” This
page must be ripped out of your notebook
and turned in.
2. Complete the “Understanding Evolution”
WebQuest
* Staple both together & turn in for a class
work grade!