Evidence of Evolution

Geological Evolution

The Earths surface is always changing and evolving.

Theory of Plate Tectonics: continents used to be one

large landmass and have since shifted apart.

Fossils of sea creatures found on mountains suggest

they used to be underwater.

Biological Evolution

Life on Earth is also always changing

Evolution-theory that species change over time

Traits passed from one generation to the next and they slowly
change over time

Evidence

Fossils

Comparative anatomy

Embryology

Genetics

Classification

Early Ideas
Charles

Darwin

Took

a 5 year voyage around the world to develop

his theory

Natural

Selection: members of a species best

suited to an environment will reproduce at a higher
rate and pass on those traits to the next
generation.
This leads to changes over time
Most

of his evidence taken from turtles and finches

on Galapagos Islands

Darwins Evidence

Finches

Adapted with the size of their beaks depending on the food

source on different islands.

Evidence for evolution

Fossils

Comparing fossils over time shows that there is a

connection between species living now and ones that
lived in the past.

Elephant fossil timeline:

Evidence for evolution

Mass extinctions:
Huge

numbers of organisms go extinct at around

the same time period

Cretaceous extinction

65 million years ago, 90% of life died out

Scientists think meteor hit somewhere in Mexico

New species always develop afterwards

Dinosaurs

died out, leaving room for hairy

mammals to adapt to the cold of the ice age

Evidence for evolution

Comparative Anatomy

Comparing the body structures of todays animals and those in

the fossil record

Homologous structures: body parts that have the same structure

but different functions. This suggests a common ancestor.

Evidence for evolution

Vestigial organs: structures that no longer have a

function but would have in ancestors.

Human appendix and wisdom teeth

Whale hip bone

Evidence for evolution

Analogous structures: body parts with the same function but

different structures. These do not suggest a common ancestor.

Bat wing and insect wing

Evidence for evolution

Embryology

Many different species that are not closely related

have very similar embryos.

This suggests common ancestors.

Evidence for evolution

Genetic evidence

Scientists can now examine the DNA of organisms and

have noticed similarities in organsisms from the past
and today.

The more genetic code two species share the more

closely related they are.

Humans and chimpanzees share roughly 98% DNA

Evidence for evolution

Biological classification

Classification, also called taxonomy, is the way

scientists group living organisms according to how
similar they are.

Evidence for evolution

Biological classification

There are six kingdoms of classification

Animalia

Plantae

Fungi

Protista

Eubacteria

Archaebacteria