Darwin Presents his case Big Q: Under what conditions does natural selection occur? Big Q: What does Darwin’s mechanism for evolution suggest about living and extinct species? Big Q: What do homologous structures and similarities in embryonic development suggest about the process of evolutionary change”

Engage - Comparing bones Investigate the similarities and differences between the forelimb of a cat and a lizard ***Answer all questions on your Inquiry Warm-Up Worksheet

Explain - Darwin’s Findings Natural Selection - organisms with variations most suited to their local environment survive and procreate Variation Adaptation Survival of the Fittest Fitness differences in heritable traits characteristics that increase survivability how well an organism can survive and reproduce traits that describe how well a species can survive

Explain - Common Descent Common Ancestor - all species, living and extinct, descended from a common ancestor Phylogenetic Tree - shows ancestral relationship

Elaborate - Birds of a feather Investigate local animals and suggest common ancestors ***Answer questions on your Inquiry Warm-Up Worksheet

Explain - Biogeography Biogeography - study of where organisms live now and where their ancestors lived in the past Darwin studied fossil records to support this study Identify possible advantages of specific changes

Explain - Comparative Analogy Homologous Structures Analogous Structures Vestigial Structures similar structure, different function different structure, similar function structures that no longer function

Explain - Comparative anatomy Embryology - similar patterns in embryological development suggest common descent Molecular Biology - genetic code and homologous molecules provide evidence of common descent

Elaborate - Molecular homology in Hoxc8 Analyze the data from the Hoxc8 gene in different species **Answer questions on your worksheet

Evaluate - Darwin’s Case Please complete the exit ticket before leaving