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Concepts for Grades 9-12

Jump to: History of Life | Evidence of Evolution | Mechanisms of Evolution | Nature of Science | Studying Evolution |

 

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History of Life Concepts
  1. Biological evolution accounts for diversity over long periods of time. (See Lessons)
    1. Through billions of years of evolution, life forms have continued to diversify in a branching pattern, from single-celled ancestors to the diversity of life on Earth today. (See Lessons)
    2. Life forms of the past were in some ways very different from living forms of today, but in other ways very similar. (See Lessons)

  2. Present-day species evolved from earlier species; the relatedness of organisms is the result of common ancestry. (See Lessons)
    1. Life on Earth 3.8 billion years ago consisted of one-celled organisms similar to present-day bacteria. (See Lessons)
    2. There is evidence of eukaryotes in the fossil record from about one billion years ago; some were the precursors of multicellular organisms.
    3. The early evolutionary process of eukaryotes included the merging of prokaryote cells. (See Lessons)

  3. Geological change and biological evolution are linked. (See Lessons)
    1. Tectonic plate movement has affected the evolution and distribution of living things. (See Lessons)
    2. Living things have had a major influence on the composition of the atmosphere and on the surface of the land. (See Lessons)

  4. During the course of evolution, only a small percentage of species have survived to today. (See Lessons)
    1. Background extinctions are a normal occurrence. (See Lessons)
    2. Rates of extinction vary. (See Lessons)
    3. Mass extinctions occur. (See Lessons)
    4. Extinction can result from environmental change.

  5. Rates of evolution vary.

  6. Rates of speciation vary. (See Lessons)

  7. Some lineages remain relatively unchanged for long periods of time.

To help you teach these concepts, you may want to explore Definition of Evolution, Patterns of Evolution, or Patterns in Macroevolution.

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Evidence of Evolution Concepts
  1. The patterns of life's diversity through time provide evidence of evolution.

  2. There is a fit between organisms and their environments, though not always a perfect fit. (See Lessons)

  3. Not every feature of an organism is an adaptation, but features often reflect their evolutionary history. (See Lessons)
    1. Features sometimes evolve to function in new ways. (See Lessons)
    2. All organisms, including humans, retain evidence of their evolutionary history. (See Lessons)

  4. There is a fit between the form of a trait and its function, though not always a perfect fit.

  5. The fossil record provides evidence for evolution. (See Lessons)
    1. The fossil record documents the biodiversity of the past. (See Lessons)
    2. The fossil record contains transitional forms. (See Lessons)
    3. The fossil record documents patterns of extinction and the appearance of new forms. (See Lessons)

  6. There are similarities and differences among fossils and living organisms. (See Lessons)

  7. Similarities among existing organisms provide evidence for evolution. (See Lessons)
    1. Anatomical similarities of living things reflect common ancestry. (See Lessons)
    2. There are similarities in the cell function of all organisms. (See Lessons)
    3. All life forms use the same basic DNA building blocks. (See Lessons)
    4. Developmental similarities of living things often reflect their relatedness. (See Lessons)

  8. Artificial selection provides a model for natural selection. (See Lessons)
    1. People selectively breed domesticated plants and animals to produce offspring with preferred characteristics. (See Lessons)

To help you teach these concepts, you may want to explore Lines of Evidence or Adaptation.

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Mechanisms of Evolution Concepts
  1. Evolution results from selection acting upon genetic variation within a population. (See Lessons)

  2. There is variation within a population.
    1. New heritable traits can result from recombinations of existing genes or from genetic mutations in reproductive cells. (See Lessons)
    2. Mutations are random, but selection is not; selection is dependent on many factors. (See Lessons)

  3. Traits that are advantageous often persist in a population. (See Lessons)
    1. The process by which advantageous traits are maintained and disadvantageous traits are weeded out of a population is known as natural selection. (See Lessons)
    2. Traits that confer an advantage and persist in the population over time, due to natural selection, are called adaptations.

  4. Complex structures may be produced incrementally by the accumulation of smaller useful mutations. (See Lessons)

  5. Inherited characteristics affect the likelihood of an organism's survival and reproduction. (See Lessons)
    1. Depending on environmental conditions, inherited characteristics may be advantageous, neutral, or detrimental. (See Lessons)
    2. The amount of genetic variation within a population may affect the likelihood of survival of the population; the less the available diversity, the less likely the population will be able to survive environmental change. (See Lessons)
    3. Random factors affect the survival of individuals and of populations. (See Lessons)
    4. Natural selection acts on individuals and populations in a nonrandom way. (See Lessons)

  6. Evolution acts on what exists. (See Lessons)
    1. Natural selection acts on phenotype as an expression of genotype. (See Lessons)
    2. Organisms cannot purposely produce adaptive mutations in response to environmental influences. (See Lessons)

  7. Populations evolve. (See Lessons)
    1. The proportion of individuals with advantageous characteristics may increase due to their increased likelihood of surviving and reproducing. (See Lessons)
    2. Evolution may occur as a result of genetic drift. (See Lessons)

  8. The number of offspring that survive to reproduce successfully is limited by environmental factors.

  9. Natural selection is dependent on environmental conditions.
    1. Environmental changes may provide opportunities that can influence natural selection.

  10. Speciation is the splitting of one ancestral lineage into two or more descendant lineages. (See Lessons)
    1. Speciation is often the result of geographic isolation. (See Lessons)
    2. Speciation requires reproductive isolation. (See Lessons)
    3. Occupying new environments can provide new selection pressures and new opportunities, leading to speciation. (See Lessons)

  11. Evolution does not consist of progress in a particular direction. (See Lessons)

  12. Extinction can stimulate evolution by opening up resources.

To help you teach these concepts, you may want to explore Mechanisms of Evolution, Speciation, or Misconceptions about How Evolution Works.

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Nature of Science Concepts
  1. Scientists pose, test, and revise multiple hypotheses to explain what they observe. (See Lessons)

  2. Scientists use only natural causes to explain natural phenomena. (See Lessons)

  3. We can learn about the natural world using our senses and extensions of our senses. (See Lessons)

  4. Scientific ideas are developed through reasoning. (See Lessons)

  5. Science does not prove or conclude; science is always a work in progress. (See Lessons)
    1. Science corrects itself. (See Lessons)
    2. Science is not based on popular opinion. (See Lessons)
    3. Science is non-dogmatic. (See Lessons)

  6. Scientific claims are subject to peer review and replication. (See Lessons)

  7. In explaining phenomena, the parsimonious claim has the advantage. (See Lessons)

  8. Theories are central to scientific thinking. (See Lessons)

  9. Science is a human endeavor. (See Lessons)

To help you teach these concepts, you may want to explore Nature of Science.

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Studying Evolution Concepts
  1. The story of the evolution of living things is always being refined as we gather more evidence. (See Lessons)

  2. Our understanding of life through time is based upon multiple lines of evidence. (See Lessons)
    1. Scientists use the similarity of DNA nucleotide sequences to infer the relatedness of taxa. (See Lessons)
    2. Scientists use anatomical evidence to infer the relatedness of taxa. (See Lessons)
    3. Scientists use developmental evidence to infer the relatedness of taxa.
    4. Scientists use fossils (including sequences of fossils showing gradual change over time) to learn about past life. (See Lessons)
    5. Scientists use physical, chemical, and geological evidence to establish the age of fossils. (See Lessons)
    6. Scientists use the geographic distribution of fossils and living things to learn about the history of life. (See Lessons)
    7. Scientists use experimental evidence to study evolutionary processes. (See Lessons)
    8. Scientists use artificial selection as a model to learn about natural selection. (See Lessons)

  3. Classification is based on evolutionary relationships. (See Lessons)
    1. Evolutionary trees (e.g., phylogenies or cladograms) portray hypotheses about evolutionary relationships. (See Lessons)
    2. Evolutionary trees (e.g., phylogenies or cladograms) are built from multiple lines of evidence. (See Lessons)

  4. As with other scientific disciplines, evolutionary biology has applications that factor into everyday life. (See Lessons)

To help you teach these concepts, you may want to explore Lines of Evidence, History of Evolutionary Thought, or Tree Building.

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