EVOLUTION

Who was Darwin & what did he do?Scientific Vocabulary

Study of Evolution

Charles Darwin

1859 published life’s work “The Origin of Species”

Evolution based on Natural Selection

Evolution: historical phenomenon of species changing & diversifying over time

Natural Selection: how evolution happened

Darwin’s Evidence

BiogeographyPaleontologyEmbryologyMorphology

Biogeography

geographical distribution of living creatures

Paleontology

extinct life forms revealed in fossil record

Embryology

comparison of the physiological stages embryos

pass through during development

Morphology

comparison of anatomical shapes in different species

Today’s Evidence

Fossil Record

Homologous Structures

Analogous Structures

Vestigial Structures

Geographical Distribution

Embryology

Biochemistry*

Population Genetics*

Molecular biology*

Genomics*

Controversy & Evolution

US StatisticsScientific Vocabulary

The United States says...

“God created human beings pretty much in their present form” (55%)

“Divine intervention got things started & evolution was the means” (27%)

“Humans evolved from other life forms with no involvement from a god” (13%)Gallop Poll of 2900 people 2006

Scientific Vocabulary to help understanding...

Define the following words:

FACT

HYPOTHESIS

INFERENCE

LAW

THEORY

FACT

An observation that has been repeatedly confirmed and for all practical purposes is accepted as “true” Truth in science, however, is never final and what is accepted as a fact today may be modified or even discarded tomorrow

Hypothesis

A tentative statement about the natural world leading to deductions that can be tested If the deductions are verified, the hypothesis is provisionally corroborated. If the deductions are incorrect, the original hypothesis is proved false and must be abandoned or modified. Hypotheses can be used to build more complex inferences and explanations.

Inference

Conclusion drawn from available evidence

Law

A descriptive generalization about how some aspect of the natural world behaves under stated circumstances

Theory

A well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that can incorporate facts, laws, inferences, and tested hypotheses