The Evolution Cycle of Study explores what is likely the most important and most misunderstood of all topics in biology. Evolution is critical to every aspect of life and has shaped every living being on Earth. By focusing on the variation that mutations provide to populations, we will learn that not all variations survive, resulting in differences in populations over time. Individuals don’t evolve, but populations do, and the products of evolution are all the splendor and diversity of life that we see around us today.
What You Will Learn
You will learn about the diversity we see in populations and how some of the traits help organisms survive. Sometimes traits are selected for by nature, and sometimes traits are selected for by humans. And in other cases, some organisms survive just because of luck! After you have explored these ideas on your own, you will learn about Darwin’s journey that helped shape his understanding of evolution. Finally, you will explore the large amount of evidence for evolution in the present-day world and also in the past.
Essential Questions
- How does nature select organisms to survive?
- What characteristics of a population allow for evolution to occur?
- When would a population not evolve?
- What evidence is there for evolution?
- How do scientists measure evolution?
- What are the products of evolution?
