General Biology 2
Quarter 3 - Module 4
EVOLUTION & HEREDITY
Prepared by: Ms. MARIA GLAIDYL P. FLORES
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Module 4
Evolution & Heredity
This module demonstrates your understanding of the characteristics of
Earth that are necessary to support life, particularly on the essential components
of this planet that drives all living things or biotic factors (plants, animals,
microorganisms) to exist. It also emphasizes on the different
subsystems(geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere) that make up
the Earth and how these systems interact to produce the kind of Earth we live in
today.
This module will help you explore the key concepts on topics that will help
you answer the questions pertaining to our very own, planet earth.
This module has one (1) lesson:
Lesson 1: Development of EvolutionaryThought
Objective;
After going through this module, you are expected to:
1. Common ancestors to produce the organismaldiversity observed today.
STEM_BIO11/12-IIIc-g-10
2. Trace the development of evolutionary thought (STEM_BIO11/12-IIIc-g-11)
3. Explain evidences of evolution (e.g., biogeography,fossil record, DNA/protein
sequences, homology,and embryology) (STEM_BIO11/12-IIIc-g-12)
4. Infer evolutionary relationships among organismsusing the evidence of evolution.
(STEM_BIO11/12-IIIc-g-13)
5. Explain how the structural and developmentalcharacteristics and relatedness of DNA
sequencesareused in classifying living things. STEM_BIO11/12IIIhj-14
6. Identify the unique/ distinctive characteristics of aspecific taxon relative to other taxa
(STEM_BIO11/12IIIhj-15)
7. Describe species diversity and cladistics, includingthe types of evidence and
procedures that can beused to establish evolutionary relationships.
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Pre-Activity
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE: Definition of Terms
1. Taxonomy
2. Kingdom
3. Phylum
4. Class
5. Order
6. Family
7. Genus
8. Species
[Link] Selection
10. Artificial Selection
Research
1. Create a “Photo Collage” about Evolution.
2. Enumerate the scientist and cite their respective contributions in the development of
evolutionary thought.
SCIENTIST CONTRIBUTIONS
1.
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Development of Evolutionary
Thought
INTRODUCTION:
Scientific classification is a method by which biologists organize living things into groups.
It is also called taxonomy. Groups of organisms in taxonomy are called taxa (singular,
taxon). You may already be familiar with commonly used taxa, such as the kingdom and
species.
Why do biologists classify organisms? The major reason is to make sense of the
incredible diversity of life on Earth. Scientists have identified millions of different species
of organisms. Among animals, the most diverse group of organisms is the insects.
Linnaean System of Classification
The most influential early classification system was developed by Carolus Linnaeus. In
fact, all modern classification systems have their roots in Linnaeus’ system. Linnaeus
was a Swedish botanist who lived during the 1700s. He is known as the “father of
taxonomy.” Linnaeus tried to describe and classify the entire known natural world. In
1735, he published his classification system in a work called Systema Naturae (“System
of Nature”).
The taxa are below:
o Kingdom - This is the highest taxon in Linnaean taxonomy, representing major
divisions of organisms. Kingdoms of organisms include the plant and animal
kingdoms.
o Phylum (plural, phyla) - This taxon is a division of a kingdom. Phyla in the animal
kingdom include chordates (animals with an internal skeleton) and arthropods
(animals with an external skeleton).
o Class - This taxon is a division of a phylum. Classes in the chordate phylum
include mammals and birds.
o Order - This taxon is a division of a class. Orders in the mammal class include
rodents and primates.
o Family - This taxon is a division of an order. Families in the primate order include
hominids (apes and humans) and hylobatids (gibbons).
o Genus - This taxon is a division of a family. Genera in the hominid family include
Homo (humans) and Pan (chimpanzees).
o Species - This taxon is below the genus and the lowest taxon in Linnaeus’ system.
Species in the Pan genus include Pan troglodytes (common chimpanzees) and
Pan paniscus (pygmy chimpanzees).
[Link]
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Thomas Malthus was an English economist. He wrote a popular essay called “On
Population.” He argued that human populations have the potential to grow faster than
the resources they need. When populations get too big, disease and famine occur.
These calamities control population size by killing off the weakest people.
Catastrophism was a theory developed by Georges Cuvier based on paleontological
evidence in the Paris Basin. Cuvier was there when he observed something peculiar
about the fossil record. Instead of finding a continuous succession of fossils, Cuvier
noticed several gaps where all evidence of life would disappear and then abruptly
reappear again after a notable amount of time. Cuvier recognized these gaps in the
fossil succession as mass extinction events.
This led Cuvier to develop a theory called catastrophism. Catastrophism states that
natural history has been punctuated by catastrophic events that altered that way life
developed and rocks were deposited.
In geology, gradualism is a theory developed by James Hutton according to which
profound changes to the Earth
This theory inspired an evolution theory in paleontology, also called gradualism,
according to which the species appeared by the gradual transformation of ancestral
species.
According to this theory, the population of a species is transformed slowly and
progressively into a new species by the accumulation of micro-evolutionary changes in
the genetic heritage.
The law of use and disuse, which states that when certain organs become specially
developed as a result of some environmental need, then that state of development is
hereditary and can be passed on to progeny.
Evolution of Darwin’s Theory
It took Darwin years to form his theory of evolution by natural selection. His reasoning
went like this:
1. Like Lamarck, Darwin assumed that species can change over time. The fossils
he found helped convince him of that.
2. From Lyell, Darwin saw that Earth and its life were very old. Thus, there had
been enough time for evolution to produce the great diversity of life Darwin had
observed.
3. From Malthus, Darwin knew that populations could grow faster than their
resources. This “overproduction of offspring” led to a “struggle for existence,” in
Darwin’s words.
4. From artificial selection, Darwin knew that some offspring have variations that
occur by chance, and that can be inherited. In nature, offspring with certain variations
might be more likely to survive the “struggle for existence” and reproduce. If so, they
would pass their favorable variations to their offspring.
5. Darwin coined the term fitness to refer to an organism’s relative ability to
survive and produce fertile offspring. Nature selects the variations that are most useful.
Therefore, he called this type of selection natural selection.
6. Darwin knew artificial selection could change domestic species over time. He
inferred that natural selection could also change species over time. In fact, he thought
that if a species changed enough, it might evolve into a new species.
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ACTIVTY 1
Answer the following questions ;
a. What did Darwin’s travels reveal to him about the number and variety of living
species?
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b. How did tortoises and birds differ among the islands of the Galapagos?
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c. What is evolution? Why is referred to as a theory?
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d. Darwin found fossils of many organisms that were different from any living species.
How would this finding has affecting his understanding of life’s diversity?
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POST QUIZ:
Write true if the statement is true or false if the statement is false.
_____ 1. As recently as 200 years ago, many people believed that Earth was only 6,000 years
old.
_____ 2. Artificial selection occurs when nature selects for beneficial traits.
_____ 3. The individual Galápagos Islands are all similar to each other.
_____ 4. Malthus argued that human populations grow faster than their resources.
_____ 5. Lamarck was one of the first scientists to propose that species evolve by natural
selection.
_____ 6. Lyell was one of the first to say that Earth must be far older than most people believed.
_____ 7. Lamarck’s inheritance of acquired characteristics is has become a widely accepted
scientific
theory.
_____ 8. Fossils proved to Darwin that species can evolve.
_____ 9. The term fitness to refer to an organism’s ability to outrun its hunters.
_____ 10. Darwin published his findings soon after returning to England from the voyage of the
Beagle.
_____ 11. According to Darwin, natural selection is what occurs, and evolution is how it
happens.
_____ 12. During his journey aboard the Beagle, Darwin found fossils from the seas in the
mountains.
_____ 13. Galápagos tortoises have differently shaped shells depending on where they live.
_____ 14. Darwin’s book changed science forever.
_____ 15. Alfred Russel Wallace developed a theory of evolution at the same time as Darwin.
