Biology Unit 8

Big Idea:

Principles of Evolution/Darwin/Natural Selection. Evolution of Populations. The history of life. The Linnaean System of Classification. Classification based on evolutionary relationships. Molecular Clocks. Domains and Kingdoms

Student Expectations:

Priority TEKS

B.7A analyze and evaluate how evidence of common ancestry among groups is provided by the fossil record, biogeography, and homologies, including anatomical, molecular, and developmental

B.7E analyze and evaluate the relationship of natural selection to adaptation and to the development of diversity in and among species

B.8A define taxonomy and recognize the importance of a standardized taxonomic system to the scientific community

B.8B categorize organisms using a hierarchical classification system based on similarities and differences shared among groups

B.8C compare characteristics of taxonomic groups, including archaea, bacteria, protists, fungi, plants, and animals.

B.12B compare variations and adaptations of organisms in different ecosystem

Focus TEKS

B.7B examine scientific explanations of abrupt appearance and stasis in the fossil record

B.7C analyze and evaluate how natural selection produces change in populations, not individuals

B.7D analyze and evaluate how the elements of natural selection, including inherited variation, the potential of a population to produce more offspring than can survive, and a finite supply of environmental resources, result in differential reproductive success;

B.7F analyze other evolutionary mechanisms, including genetic drift, gene flow, mutation, and recombination.

Ongoing TEKS

B.2A know the definition of science and understand that it has limitations

B.2B know that hypotheses are tentative and testable statements that must be capable of being supported or not supported by observational evidence. Hypotheses of durable explanatory power that have been tested over a wide variety of conditions are incorporated into theories

B.2C know scientific theories are based on natural and physical phenomena and are capable of being tested by multiple independent researchers. Unlike hypotheses, scientific theories are well established and highly reliable explanations, but they may be subject to change as new areas of science and new technologies are developed

B.2D distinguish between scientific hypotheses and scientific theories

B.3A analyze, evaluate, and critique scientific explanations by using empirical evidence, logical reasoning, and experimental and observational testing, so as to encourage critical thinking by the student

B.3B communicate and apply scientific information extracted from various sources such as current events, published journal articles, and marketing materials

B.3C draw inferences based on data related to promotional materials for products and services

B.3F research and describe the history of biology and contributions of scientists

Student Learning Targets:

• I will explain why evolution is considered a theory and not a law.
• I will describe Darwin’s voyage to the Galapagos Islands and how his discoveries paved the way for further exploration of evolution.
• I will explain how natural selection supports the theory of evolution.
• I will illustrate how the fossil record can be used to trace the evolution of organisms.
• I will discuss how genetic variation in a population increases some individuals’ chance of survival.
• I will explain the concept of genetic drift.
• I will evaluate the Hardy-Wienberg equation and analyze how it is used to predict genotype frequencies in a population.
• I will list and describe the different types of isolation, and how they can lead to speciation.
• I will describe fossils, how they are formed, and how scientists date them.
• I will evaluate the different hypotheses of how life began on Earth.

Essential Questions:

• What accounts for the variation Darwin observed among island species?
• What are the four principles of natural selection?
• How can a bat’s wing be considered both a homologous and an analogous structure?
• Why does genetic variation increase the likelihood that some individuals in a population will survive?
• What are three ways that natural selection can change a population distribution of traits?
• What are two processes through which genetic drift can occur?
• What conditions are necessary for a population to be in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?
• What is the usefulness of categorizing Earth’s history into the geologic time scale?
• What environmental conditions that are thought to have existed during the Hadean eon?

Extra Information:

Adopted Textbook: Biology, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Holt McDougal

District Grading Policy

Texas Gateway Online Resource Center