Evolution

Species only exist if they survive from one generation to another by reproduction.

Different factors cause difficulty to individual within a species

• Climate

• Predators

• Non Predatorial challenges

• Water

• Food

Species mutate, that is different individuals within a species are different to each other. If a threat comes along that a mutated species is better adapted to deal with this threat, this individual will be alive to reproduce and so maintain the mutation in the species population. This will change the species.

The code for the mutation is carried on the DNA of the individual member of species and its offspring.

Humans have evolved, but you are not evolving. You are the product of your parents and are quite similar to them.

You have probably heard that we evolved from monkeys, this is because we are quite similar in form to monkeys have adaptable minds that can solve problem and also share very similiar family structure to some apes. It is unlikely that we evolved from any of the monkeys we can see in the wild or in our zoos, but it is very likely that we all shared a common ancestor many millions of years ago.

We have studied reproduction and so you are aware that 2 humans can reproduce young. In order for this to happen the 2 parents must stay alive. In modern society it is quite unusual for humans to pass away young, excluding accident or disease. This means that only individuals that survive can reproduce, thus the next generation are more likely to have the traits that allowed their parents to survive. This improves the probability of the offspring surviving to adulthood, when individuals reach sexual maturity.