


Write your homework – have it stamped
Start a new Table of Contents for this unit &
then update it for today!
Get something to correct your Earth’s
History Unit Test with!
Date
1/5 &
1/6
Session
#
1
Activity
“The Big Questions:” Warm-up & Homework
Evolution & Natural Selection Notes
Page
#
1-2
3
“THE BIG QUESTIONS”
What is evolution?
How does biological evolution
happen?
What is the evidence to support
biological evolution?
What do we do with this evidence?
Take a few minutes and…
Write down any and all questions that come to
your mind about evolution that you would like
answered.
•
• Now, go through your list…chose your top 5
questions to answer for homework!
What is evolution?
How does biological
evolution happen?
The voyages of Charles Darwin & Alfred Russel Wallace
led each scientist to independently discover the natural
origin of species and to formulate the theory of evolution
by natural selection…making them the “Fathers of
Evolution”
Evolution – The process of change over time
 This change could be geological,
biological…what else?

How do they affect each other?
Biological Evolution is a process 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.
This is 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 and
reproduce
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 survive and
reproduce
passing on the
adaptation – this
is Natural
Selection, or
“Survival of the
Fittest”
Example:
Sea Horse Birth Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsHCqrrU-Gk


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 on your note guide
next to each number write which of the 4
principles you see along with a justification for
why you wrote that principle…there may be
more than one!
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
create 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
1/7 &
1/8
Session
#
2
Activity
Biological Evolution: How Does it Happen?
Page
#
4
How does biological
evolution happen?
What is the evidence to
support biological
evolution?
What is evolution?
How does biological
evolution happen?



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?
 The
4 Principles of Natural
Selection lead us through the
process of biological evolution,
but then how do we have so
many different species on Earth?
 First
of all, what is a species?
Species – A group of organisms that can
interbreed and produce fertile offspring

Where did all of these different
species on Earth come from?
Speciation – over time, beneficial
variations that are passed on through
generations will accumulate and result
in an entirely different organism - not
just a variation of the original, but an
entirely new species.

What could cause organisms of the
same species to evolve so differently?
Isolation - if 2 populations of the same
species are separated they cannot
reproduce with each other causing
different variations & mutations in each
population due to environmental
demands, and eventually 2 new species
will evolve from the old species.

Is all evolution natural? NO!
Artificial Selection – (also known as
selective breeding) is the process by
which humans breed plants and
animals for specific desirable traits
Can you think of any examples?
Galapagos Finches
 Watch the video &
answer the questions on
the note guide!!

http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/origin-species-beak-finch

Once you get your Chromebook, go to:




http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/sorting-finch-species
You will go through this activity without your
headphones and see how well you are able to sort the
different species of finches based on their song and
appearance.
You can work with your table partner, but you must
each complete the half sheet of questions and turn it
in for a grade!
Once you have found the activity, click on ‘Start Click
& Learn,’ and then begin to fill out your half sheet



Write your homework – get it stamped!
Update your table of contents for today!
Get your Finch Sorting Activity off of
the counter and tape it into page 5!
Date
1/8 &
1/12
Session
#
3
Activity
Page
#
Finch Sorting Activity
5
Genotype Vs. Phenotype Notes
6
How does biological
evolution happen?
What is the evidence to
support biological
evolution?



You will be faced with 3
challenges…will you survive?
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?
What is the evidence to
support biological
evolution?
What do we do with this
evidence?
The body structure and characteristics are
dependent on the genetic code! In other
words, the genetic variation leads to the
physical adaptation!
GENOTYPE – genetic code or DNA structure
PHENOTYPE – body structures, physical
characteristics or behavior
Genotype (genetic variations)
Phenotype (physical adaptations)
Natural Selection
Or “Survival of the Fittest”

Based on just the phenotype…who
do you think is more closely
related and why?

Who is more closely related and
why?

Using just the phenotype is hard…the
hyrax is one of the elephant’s closest
living relatives…but how would you ever
know that?



Each of the next slides will describe a
scenario.
I will read the scenario, and then you
must quickly write an example of a
PHENOTYPE that would give an
animal in that scenario and advantage
in survival.
You will have 30 seconds to write as
many things as you can on your paper!
Scenario 1: Drought
- There has been a drought and all of
the grass has dried 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: Human Factor
-Humans frequently make rapid
changes to the natural environment.
Which characteristics would make a
species most able to adapt and
evolve to a rapidly changing
environment?


Rock Pocket Mouse
Watch the video clip &
answer the questions!!
http://media.hhmi.org/biointeractive/films/natural_selection.html
Again, the body structure and
characteristics are dependent on the
genetic code! In other words, the
genetic variation leads to the physical
adaptation!
…but which one is really what
helps a species survive?

Write your homework – get it stamped!
Quiz next class on Sessions 1-4…STUDY!!
 ALL work must be turned in by Friday!
 Answer key to vocab practice quiz will be
on the wiki!


Update your table of contents for today!
Date
1/13 &
1/14
Session
#
4
Activity
Page
#
Genotype Vs. Phenotype Analysis Warm-Up
7
Evidence of Evolution Notes
8
Practice Quiz
9
What is the evidence to
support biological
evolution?
What do we do with this
evidence?
What is genotype?
What is phenotype?
Which is really responsible for
allowing a species to survive?
What do we use phenotype and
genotype information for?
Organism
Genotype
Tunicate
GTAAGCCGTTTAGCGTTAACGTCCGTAGCTAAGGTCCGTAGC
Yellowfin
Tuna
GTAAAATTTTTAGCGTTAATTCATGTAGCTAAGGTCCGTAGC
GTTTAATTAAAAGCGTTCCTTCATGTAGCTTCCACGCGGCGC
Wallaby
Green Sea GTATAATTAAAAGCGTTAATTCATGTAGCTTCCGTCCGGCGC
Turtle
GTAAAATTAAAAGCGTTAATTCATGTAGCTAAGGTCCGGCGC
Coqui Frog
GTTTAATTAAAAGATTTCCTTCATGTAGCTTCCACGCGGCGC
Hoary Bat
GTTTAATTAAAAGATTTCCTTCATGTGGCTTCCACGCGGCGC
Human
# of genetic
bases in
common with
Tunicate
42
33
18
1.
2.
3.
4.
Fossils
Embryology
Comparative Anatomy (homologous
structures, analagous structures, vestigial
structures)
Molecular Biology
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 same function
that arise from common environmental
demands
Vestigial Structures – Anatomical remains that
were important in an organism’s ancestors,
but are no longer used in the same way


Key to understanding how genetic 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 &
genotype are important for
determining the relationship
between organisms!
Get a whiteboard, marker &
eraser so we can practice with the
different types of evidence!
 There are 5 scenarios and 6
choices & each piece of evidence
is only used once!

EXAMPLE: Humans, chimps,
whales and bats all have the same
bones in their arms, fins or wings.
What type of evidence is this?
 How is this evidence of evolution?

EXAMPLE: The human gene for your
muscle protein is different from a
monkey muscle protein in 4 places
and different from a chicken in 25
places.
What type of evidence is this?
 How is this evidence of evolution?

EXAMPLE: Scientists find bones of a
huge animal that doesn’t exist today,
but it looks similar to a horse.
What type of evidence is this?
 How is this evidence of evolution?

EXAMPLE: Honey opossums lick
nectar from flowers using a long
tongue made of soft muscle, while
butterflies lick nectar from flowers
using a long tongue made of hard
protein.
What type of evidence is this?
 How is this evidence of evolution?

EXAMPLE: Humans, rabbits and
zebras all have an appendix, but the
human appendix is much smaller
than the other mammals because it
doesn’t really use it anymore.
What type of evidence is this?
 How is this evidence of evolution?



Study for your Evolution quiz
next class!
ALL work must be in by Friday!


Write your homework – get it stamped!
Update your Table of Contents for
today!
Date
Session
#
12/20
& 1/6
3
Activity
Natural Selection Nemo Style
Page
#
8
Keep in mind:
 The 4 Principles of
Natural Selection
 The idea of
“Survival of the
Fittest”
 Basic scientific
information

Salamanders in California

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCoEiLOV8jc
Additional Video Resource – Crash Course Biology Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oKlKmrbLoU
Create an
ORIGINAL
cartoon or
comic strip
that
illustrates
the idea of
“Survival of
the Fittest”



Write your homework – have it stamped!
Update your Table of Contents for today!
Turn back to Page 1 of notes for this section
of the unit!
Date
Session
#
1/7 &
1/8
4
Activity
Page
#
Evolutionary Tree Notes
9
Biodiversity Article
10
BIG QUESTION PART 3:
What do we use all of this evidence for?
1. To establish relationships between species
2. To build evolutionary trees
3. Biological classification – classify
organisms based on taxonomy (next class)

We keep talking about different
species, but what is a species anyway?
Species – A group of organisms that
can interbreed and produce fertile
offspring

How we establish relationships
between species?

How closely related to other species
are we?
Evolutionary Tree –
also known as a
phylogenetic tree; it is
like a family tree, but it
shows the relationships
between species
branching back to
common ancestors.

Sometimes the opposite happens, and
two different species have such a
dependent relationship that they
evolve together.
Coevolution - describes cases where
two (or more) species affect each
other’s evolution.
QUICK: Google an example!


Reading an Evolutionary Tree is similar to
reading a family tree.
Read the passage on the front and examine
the diagrams, then answer the questions on
the other side.
Lays eggs on land



Write your homework – have it stamped!
Get your homework out to be checked!
Update your Table of Contents for today!
Date
Session
#
1/9 &
1/10
5
Activity
Page
#
Biological Classification Notes
11
Animal Evolution Project Guide
12
BIG QUESTION PART 3:
What do we use all of this evidence for?
1. To establish relationships between species
2. To build evolutionary trees - TODAY
3. Biological classification – classify
organisms based on taxonomy - TODAY

How are we able to organize and
identify all of these different
species?
Taxonomy – the science of naming
and classifying organisms

How do scientists classify these
organisms?
To classify organisms scientists use
similarities and differences among
species

What are the benefits of biological
classification (taxonomy)?
 Simple
organization & scientific
consistency
 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: Humans
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Family: Hominidae
Genus: Homo
Species: Sapiens
• Which 2 animals are the most closely
related, and how do you know?
Racoon
Cattle
Fox
Muskrat
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Carnivora
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Artiodactyla
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Carnivora
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Rodentia
Family
Genus
Species
Procyonids Bovidae
Procyon
Bos
Procyonlotor Bostaurus
Canidae
Cricetidae
Vulpes
Ondatra
Vulpesvulpes Ondatrazibethicus
• Using pages B51-B54 in the
textbook, answer the questions
at the bottom of the note guide
with your new table partner!
Are You My Mother?................


You will have the rest of the time to
begin a project about the evolution of
a particular animal.
It MUST be completed in Google Docs
Presentation, and must be shared with
me by the due date!