Unit 6: Evolution

We know how information gets passed on from one generation to the next...but how do those generations change over time? How does natural selection drive the process of evolution? Why is diversity within a species the key to survival of that species? What evidence indicates that all life on Earth is related? How does the theory of evolution address both the similarities and diversity of life on Earth?

Adaptations

Principles of Natural Selection

Evidence of Evolution

Patterns of Natural Selection

Speciation

Classification of Organisms

Learning Standards

HS-LS4-1. Communicate scientific information that common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence, including molecular, anatomical, and developmental similarities inherited from a common ancestor (homologies), seen through fossils and laboratory and field observations.

HS-LS4-2. Construct an explanation based on evidence that Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection occurs in a population when the following conditions are met: (a) more offspring are produced than can be supported by the environment, (b) there is heritable variation among individuals, and (c) some of these variations lead to differential fitness among individuals as some individuals are better able to compete for limited resources than others.

HS-LS4-4. Research and communicate information about key features of viruses and bacteria to explain their ability to adapt and reproduce in a wide variety of environments.

HS-LS4-5. Evaluate models that demonstrate how changes in an environment may result in the evolution of a population of a given species, the emergence of new species over generations, or the extinction of other species due to the processes of genetic drift, gene flow, mutation, and natural selection.