Unit 6

Evolution

Why is there such a great diversity of

organisms on Earth? What are mutations and how do they lead to

new species? Why do organisms live where they do? How are

organisms adapted to live in the habitat that they live in?

What are some of the modes of evolution? Are humans still evolving? How can we observe evolution?

Essential Questions

Required Readings:

3.24 Learning Objectives:

To recall that living organisms differ from one another

To distinguish between continuous and discontinuous variation

Day 1: Variation

Why do you think there is so much variation

within species? Provide some examples (at least 3) of

organisms and how they vary. Time: 10 minutes

Starter

Watch the video “The Making of the Fittest:

Natural Selection and Adaptation” Complete the quiz as you watch it. Don’t

worry if you don’t finish the quiz Time: 15 minutes

Activity 1

Move to your lab groups Complete the Color Variation in Rock Pocket

Mouse Populations packet Time: 35 minutes

Activity 2

http

://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks3/science/organisms_behaviour_health/variation_classification/revision/1/

Read through the summary, complete the activity and the quiz

Time: 20 minutes

Activity 3

Complete the quiz (due Monday) Complete the “Color Variation in Rock Pocket

Mouse Population” (due Monday)

Closing & Homework

What Darwin Never Knew While watching the video,

Write down questions that they have after watching the video

Keep note of interesting facts/information that they learned while watching the video

Hand these in at the end of the lesson Homework: What is your personal view of

evolution? Give 3 points to support your claim. Why do you think evolution is such a controversial topic to learn about?

Day 2

Required Readings:

3.25 Learning Objectives:

To identify mutation and sexual reproduction as sources of variation

To understand that mutations may involve whole chromosomes or genes within them

To recognize that environmental factors may increase the likelihood of mutation

Day 3: Causes of Variation

What is a mutation? How do mutations occur? What do mutations do to an organism? Are mutations good, bad or neither? Explain. Time: 15 minutes

Starter

Any questions on last week’s video? Time: 5 minutes

Activity 1

Get into your lab groups Mutations and Variation activity Time: 45 minutes

Activity 2

Which mutation caused the greatest delay in

acquiring food? Which mutation caused the greatest delay in

processing and consuming food? What would these mutations do to the population of

the environment? What were some adaptations to the mutations your

group came up with? In what environment would each mutation be

beneficial in? Harmful? What type of animal would have these mutations?

Discussion

Beneficial vs. harmful mutations Create a cartoon showing the benefits and the

harms of mutations Time: 15 minutes

Activity 3

Required Readings:

3.26: Variation and NS: The Evolution of Species Learning Objectives:

To understand the meaning of adaptation and to provide examples of this

To realize that Darwin’s theory benefited from the ideas of other scientists

Day 4 (60 min)

Go to the website:

http://sciencenetlinks.com/esheets/nowhere-to-hide/ Play the game and answer the questions 1-9 on

the first page Go to the website:

www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/pepperedmoth.html Complete the simulation and answer the data

and analysis section

Activity 1

Activities due Tuesday, February 26

Homework

Required readings:

3.27: Natural Selection Learning Objectives:

TO understand how adaptation leads to natural selection

Day 5

Work in your groups to complete the following

activities: Using a picture, explain how and why natural

selection occurred in Darwin’s finches in the Galapagos Islands

Create a powerpoint with the following: Research the following and give examples where this

occurs in nature: over-production, survival of the fittest, struggle for existence, variation, passing on advantageous characteristics to offspring

How are new species formed? How do selective pressures affect how a species evolves?

Activities

Required Readings:

None Learning Objectives:

To simulate the Darwinian theory of natural selection

Observe how natural selection affects a population

Learn how mutations, gene flow, genetic drift, and selective mating affect a population

Understand how natural selection tends to create a population more adapted for its environment

Day 6

Any problems from last week’s work? Show me the work you completed from the

last 2 lessons Time: 15 minutes

Starter

Get into your lab groups Read through the “Engage” section of the

activity and answer the questions on the side Time: 10 minutes

Activity 1

Work through the “explore” section You will do 2 generations at each of the three

habitats I will tell you “start” and “stop” for each of the

generations after you have your station set up Record the data when needed Time: 45 minutes

Activity 2

Answer the “explain” questions with your

group Time: 15 minutes

Activity 3

Required Readings:

None Learning Objectives:

To simulate the Darwinian theory of natural selection

Observe how natural selection affects a population

Learn how mutations, gene flow, genetic drift, and selective mating affect a population

Understand how natural selection tends to create a population more adapted for its environment

Day 7

Work through the “Extend” section of the

“Simulating the Darwinian Theory” lab When completed, answer the “Explain”

questions with your group Hand in one copy plus your observations You may use the rest of the time to get caught

up on missing work

Activity 1

Required readings:

None Learning Objectives:

To form an opinion with proof to back up your opinion on whether humans are still evolving or not

Day 8

Compare and contrast early man to humans today (you may use your phones/computers to research)

Some things to include are: Physical features (height, weight, skin colour) Structural features (do we have all the same organs? Are

some structures now vestigial?) Technological advances – how have these affected our

evolution? Intelligence

Time: 20 minutes

Starter

Read the instructions for “Worksheet 5.3” By yourself, respond to the question “Are

humans still evolving?” You can write your answer on the handout

provided, or if you would like to answer it in another form, you may do so

Be thoughtful and thorough in your response. Don’t rush, you will be given plenty of time to answer.

Be sure to back up your opinions with evidence Time: 20 minutes

Activity 1

Move to your lab groups Share your thoughts and ideas about if

humans are still evolving or not Things to think about include:

Does your socioeconomic status matter? Think – Developed countries vs. developing countries; wealthy vs. impoverished

Does biotechnology have an effect on evolution?

Time: 10 minutes

Activity 2

Read through the 3 articles with your lab

group on whether humans are still evolving or not

Highlight/underline key ideas as you read As a group, draw a conclusion for the question

“are humans still evolving” and depict your conclusion on the poster paper

Have at least 3 arguments/proof to support your claim

Time: 30 minutes

Activity 3

Required Readings:

None Learning Objectives:

To explain the evolution of animal structures in relation to Darwin’s theory

Day 9 (60 min)

Tiktaalik is believed to be the first vertebrate land animal

Why did Tiktaalik move from the water to land? What parts needed to evolve in order to survive

on land? How did this pave the way for other land

species to evolve? Time: 15 minutes

Starter

Look at the different pictures with your group For each of the structures, explain how the

structure evolved from an ancestral structure. You can write your answers in “Part 1”

You can use the internet to help you out if you get stuck on any of the structures

We will share our answers at the end Time: 25 minutes

Activity 1

What is the Darwinian theory of evolution? Were there previous theories before Darwin? If

so, explain how they are different from Darwin’s.

Create a concept map/flow chart/spider web to communicate your answers

Time: 20 minutes

Activity 2

Required Readings: Learning Objectives:

To see the adaptive features of a frog through a dissection

Day 10

What do the following words mean? You will need

to understand these in order to make observations for our dissection. Dorsal Ventral Vomerine teeth Hind legs Pericardial membrane Villi Mesentery

Time: 15 minutes

Starter

Work through the “dissecting frog evolution”

handout, using the “how to dissect a frog” as a guideline for the steps you need to take to dissect

Fill in your observations and explanations as you go

Time: 60 minutes

Activity 1

Discussion and summing up the dissection Time: 20 minutes

Activity 2

Required Readings:

None Learning Objectives:

To investigate coevolution and research animals that have coevolved

To develop a theory for why dinosaurs became extinct

Day 11

These two species have coevolved What do you think this term means using the

picture below as a guide Time: 10 minutes

Starter

Go to the website http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/biowarfare_01 How are the following concepts addressed in the article? There is a fit between organisms and their environments, though not always a perfect

fit. Evolution results from natural selection acting upon genetic variation within a

population. Natural selection and genetic drift act on the variation that exists in a population. Inherited characteristics affect the likelihood of an organism’s survival and

reproduction. Over time, the proportion of individuals with advantageous characteristics may

increase (and the proportion with disadvantageous characteristics may decrease) due to their likelihood of surviving and reproducing.

Traits that confer an advantage may persist in the population and are called adaptations.

Depending on environmental conditions, inherited characteristics may be advantageous, neutral, or detrimental.

Scientists test their ideas using multiple lines of evidence. Scientists use multiple research methods (experiments, observational research,

comparative research, and modeling) to collect data. Scientists can test ideas about events and processes long past, very distant, and not

directly observable. Scientists use experimental evidence to study evolutionary processes.

Activity 1

Go to the website

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/educators/lessons/lesson1/act2.html

Work through part A & B

Activity 2

Required Readings:

3.28: Artificial Selection Learning Objectives:

To understand the process of artificial selection

Day 12: Artificial Selection

Artificial selection has been going on for

hundreds of years What is artificial selection? What are the

benefits? All of these

vegetables come wild mustard.

How do you think it was done?

Time: 15 minutes

Starter

Humans have been using artificial selection to

breed dogs for hundreds of years Why do you think we might want to artificially

select dogs? Do you think that we would get the desired

outcome on the first try? Explain. Watch the short clip on artificial selection Time: 15 minutes

Activity 1

Describe the features or abilities of dogs for

which humans might breed Look at the “dog breeding example” – what

traits match the example given? What other traits are important to consider? What traits are not important to consider?

Time: 10 minutes

Activity 2

You will be artificially selecting a new dog with

certain traits by crossing 2 already existing dogs

Fill in the “ownership card” and “puppy traits” sheet

Each breeding pair will produce 3 puppies, and traits can be inherited from either the mother of father (use a coin to determine which traits are inherited)

Discuss the variation observed in the puppies Display your findings in a picture Time: 30 minutes

Activity 3