1. Chapter 15-16 Note-Taking Guide
Evolution: Evidence and Theory and Speciation
What is evolution by natural selection?
Evidence for Evolution
1.
2.

2. 3.
4.
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6.
7.
 The Fossil Record
 A fossil is a ______________________________.
 Fossils are often found in layers of ______________________________________.
 Sedimentary rock is formed when ______________________________ like dust, sand or
mud is deposited and turns to _________________________ over many years.
 A _______________________________ is an imprint in rock in the shape of an
organism.

3.  A _________________________ is when a mold fills in with hard
___________________________.
 Sometimes a fossil can form when a whole animal is preserved in
________________________________________________.
 What can Fossils Tell Us?
 Law of Superposition states that successive layers of rock or soil were deposited
 The lowest layer is the _____________________________because it was deposited
________________________________.
 Any ____________________________________ found in those layers would be around
the same age as the layers.
 ______________________________________ is not exact but can only determine if a
fossil is older or younger than another fossil.
 ___________________________________________is determined using chemical
processes which can show a number of years for the age of the fossil or rock layer.
 Succession of Forms
 ___________________________ indicate that species of organisms appeared, existed
for a while and then _________________________________ or became
__________________________.

4.  __________________________________________ occur when large amounts of
species ____________________________.
 Mass extinctions can be caused by the ______________________________ like volcanic
activity or from asteroid impacts.
 Current extinctions are being caused by ______________________________.
 ____________________________________________ is the study of the comparison of
fossils to living organisms.
 Biogeography shows that new organisms arise in areas where
______________________________ forms once lived.
 Theories of Evolution (Change)
 French scientist Jean Baptiste de Lamarck formed some of the first theories of change by
observing animals with webbed feet and other animals like giraffes.
 He thought that ____________________________________________ like ones that are
earned through life were passed down to offspring.
 His idea was easily __________________________________ but Lamarck was one of
the first thinkers of change of his time.
 Darwin’s Dangerous Idea

5.  In the mid-1800’s, Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace independently developed an idea
that species were _____________________________ by
______________________________________.
 In the process of natural selection, organisms best __________________________ to
their _______________________________ reproduced more successfully than other
organisms.
 Over generations, the ____________________________ increase in the population.
 Voyage of the Beagle
 Darwin rode aboard the ship the H.M.S Beagle as the ship’s
_________________________________ so he could learn about all the plants and
animals he found.
 Darwin based some of his work on the research of ____________________________
who said that many of the Earth’s geologic processes took a long time to complete and
the Earth must be quite ____________________________.
 Darwin’s Observations
 Darwin observed high in the Andes Mountains of South America that fossils of
____________________ creatures were present. How did they get up there?
 Darwin reasoned that they ______________________________ must have been
uplifted from the sea bed many years ago.

6.  If the land can change why not the living creatures there?
 Darwin collected many _____________________________ and observed thousands of
species on his 5 year journey.
 The Galapagos Islands
 Darwin visited the _____________________________________________, an isolated
part of South America.
 There he observed many animals ________________________ those found on the
mainland of South America.
 Each island in the Galapagos had unique animals found nowhere else. Why?
 Darwin’s Theories
 _________________________________________________________________- states
that newer forms appearing in the fossil record are actually the
_______________________________ or slightly changed
_____________________________ of older species.
 ______________________________________________________________ states that
the __________________________________ may affect individual organisms in
different ways because they are not _________________________

7.  _______________________________________ said populations are limited by adverse
conditions like ____________________,______________________,
and_________________________________ otherwise they would grow unchecked.
 Darwin used Malthus’ ideas in his work.
 Natural Selection
 A population of organisms _____________________________________ to their
environment as their proportion of ______________________________ for favorable
___________________________ increases.
 A single organism’s genetic contribution to the next generation is termed
_________________________________.
 A ________________________________ gives an organism an
__________________________________________.
 _________________________ occur in species which can create favorable or
unfavorable traits in certain environments.
 Homologous and Analogous Structures
 A _____________________________________ structure is a similar feature that
originated in a ________________________________________.
 These structures originate from the same areas in ____________________________of
the animals.

8.  _______________________________________ are features that look similar because
they are used for a _____________________________________ but arise from a
different embryological development like _______________________________ in birds
and bees
 Vestigial Structures
 _________________________________________________ are features that are no
longer _______________________________________ and have no apparent function
in a current animal but had a function in a common ancestor.
 Vestigial structures indicate ___________________________________.
 Some animals like humans are born with vestigial structures showing like tails.
 Whales have 4-chambered stomachs like a cow even though it is not used.
Examples of vestigial structures
1.
2.
3.

9.  Embryology
 Embryology is the study of _________________________ and their
_____________________________.
 Animals have similar _____________________________ at certain stages of
development indicating a common _________________________.
 Macromolecules and DNA
 All life on this planet has the same __________________________ bases and the same
types of _____________________.
 This indicates that we are all __________________________.
 Comparing genes and DNA, comparing amino acids sequences and comparing certain
protein sequences all lead to the same conclusion…
 As the number of differences _____________________________, the more related the
two animals are.
 Evolution in Action
 Anyone can see evolution in action every day.
 Entire ___________________________ can evolve into new species.

10.  Larger animals take more time while bacteria and viruses can evolve in a matter of
hours.
Examples of Evolution in Action
1.
2.
3.
 Patterns of Evolution
 __________________________________ is when two species change together in close
association.
 Some species cannot live without the other because they are so closely connected.

11.  ________________________________________evolution is when the environment
selects certain _____________________________ to be similar even though the two
animals may not closely related;
_____________________________and_____________________
 _____________________________________ evolution is when two or more related
populations over time become more _____________________________. This usually
results in a new species; dogs and wolves.
 ______________________________ evolution is also called
_____________________________________________, when the animals adapt to a
specific _________________________________and change into new species over time.
 ________________________________ is when humans select the traits and cause the
evolution;
_____________________,___________________,_______________________and_____
___________________________.
Examples of Coevolution
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2.

12. 3.
 Convergent Evolution
 Many ___________________________ have _____________________ counterparts on
other continents.
 The ___________________________ selects an animal to occupy a habitat.
Examples of convergent evolution
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2.
3.
 What is a species?

13.  A species is a group of animals that can ____________________________ with each
other and produce offspring that that also _________________________.
 One species cannot breed with another and create offspring that can also breed.
 There are many ______________________________ that can restrict breeding which
can contribute to the formation of a new _________________________.
 ___________________________ is the formation of a new
________________________.
 Isolating Mechanisms that cause Speciation
 Geographic isolation is the
________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________.
 Examples are
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________.
 Reproductive isolation creates a barrier to
_________________________________________________.
 Examples are
________________________________________________________________________

14. ________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________.
What do you think is the strongest piece of evidence presented?
What three people influenced Darwin’s work?
How can we see evolution working today?
How are new species being created?