Francesca Reid THE EVIDENCE OF EVOLUTION

Palaeontology Palaeontology is the study of fossils that remain from a once- living organism. Fossils are made from the decayed bodies of dead animals and sediment, that hardens and creates a cast and mould. Scientist are able to find out the date of these fossils by dating the rocks that surround the fossil using radioactive dating techniques. Although the fossil record only shows a small fraction of the organisms that lived on earth. This is due to only hard parts being fossilised and some organisms not being fossilised. However, despite the fact that such a small amount are recorded scientist are still able to suggest possible evolutionary change that have taken place.

Biogeography Biogeography is the study of distribution of organisms. Both Wallace and Darwin used the idea of Biogeography to explain evolution. They both noticed that the same species of animals were found not in places with similar environments, but rather related to the geographic position. Due to continental drift some animals and plants would have had to evolve to fit in with new environments. By looking at the location of fossils and the evolved species of the organism we are able to learn about the evolution of the organism and continental drift.

Comparative anatomy Comparative anatomy is the study of similar structure of anatomy. By looking at the anatomy of fossils and living species of animals and plants scientist are able to compare anatomy of different organisms. By doing this we are able to find common ancestors and learn more about our evolution. One example of comparative anatomy is Homologous structures, which are structures that have the same origin but not necessarily the same task.

Comparative Embryology Comparative embryology is the study of different embryos to see if any similarities can be seen. Through evolution many new species have been made with different genes. However when looking at the embryos there are similarities that show.

DNA sequence DNA sequencing is the study of DNA from different organism and there similarities. The term DNA sequencing refers to sequencing methods in determining the order of the nucleotide bases adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine in a molecule of a DNA.