Welcome to Science 3/1 Answer the following question on your piece of paper: There are nearly 2 million individual species of organisms on Earth. Each species is extremely unique. In your opinion, explain how these species came to be here on Earth. Today’s Schedule 1. Pass Back and Review Test 2. Darwin’s Voyage 3. Assignment

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How did all living things that have ever lived on Earth get here? The scientific answer would be evolution. Evolution is technically defined as: "a gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form."

Some finches have wide beaks to break open and eat seeds. Some finches have pointed, sharp beaks to eat insects.

Charles Darwin At 22 years old. He traveled the world to learn as much about living things as he could. He saw tremendous diversity (variety) in the living things he saw. Today, scientists have identified 1.7 million different species (similar organisms that can mate & reproduce)

Darwin’s Voyage

Similarities & Differences Darwin noticed many similarities & differences between the animals he saw. Iguanas- on the islands they had large claws. On land short claws. Cormorants- on the islands they could not fly. On land they could Darwin inferred that a small number of plants and animals had come to the islands from the mainland.

Adaptations Darwin concluded that over time, the organisms that were isolated on the islands began to adapt to life on the islands. (They developed traits that helped them survive and reproduce.)

Evolution After his journey, Darwin spent the next 20 years researching his findings. Darwin concluded that the organisms that arrived on the islands faced conditions that were different than those on the mainland. Darwin thought the species gradually changed over time to adapt to the new conditions. (Evolution)

What causes organisms to change? Natural Selection- Survival of the Fittest Individuals better suited to the environment are more likely to survive and reproduce than other members of the same species. Untamed and Uncut:Video : Animal Planet

How does Natural Selection Work? Video -- Baby Sea Turtles Attacked -- National Geographic Species must produce more offspring than can possibly survive. Why? Life in the wild is hard. Your whole life revolves around finding food and trying to avoid becoming food. If a species does not reproduce enough offspring it will slowly become extinct.

How does Natural Selection Work? Offspring must compete with each other to survive. Some turtles will find food better than others. Some turtles will escape predators better than others. The turtles that can survive will get to reproduce.

How does Natural Selection Work? Some baby turtles will be able to swim or move faster than others. Some baby turtles will have better camouflage than others. These are variations, or differences between individual members of a species.

Conclusion Organisms have variations that make them different. Over time, nature will “select” the organisms with beneficial variations to survive and reproduce. Over a long, long, time natural selection can lead to evolution. Helpful variations, gradually accumulate in a species, while unfavorable ones disappear.

Assignment Write down and define the following terms: Species Adaptations Evolution Natural selection Overproduction Competition variations Answer Questions 1-4 on page 150.

Animal Variation Bonus Assignment All organisms have variations that help them survive. You are going to create a Super Animal by combining the best variations from a variety of characters.

Blue Jay v. Moths Natural Selection Simulation Peppered Moth Simulation (Paper & Pencil) Evolution Crossword (2)