12 Questions
Who came up with the theory of natural selection?
Charles Darwin
What is a key process through which living organisms adapt, reproduce, and change?
Natural selection
What is a significant example of natural selection mentioned in the text?
Evolution of peppered moths in the United Kingdom
When did Charles Darwin challenge the status quo with his theory of evolution?
1859
Who supported Charles Darwin's theory of evolution with their work?
Alfred Wallace
What was the prevailing belief about the origins of living organisms in the western world before Darwin's theory?
All creatures were formed by a single creator
Explain in your own words how natural selection works.
Natural selection is the process through which populations of living organisms adapt, reproduce, and change due to random mutations in DNA of reproductive cells, leading to certain advantageous traits being passed down to offspring.
What does the phrase 'survival of the fittest' refer to in the context of evolutionary theory?
Survival of the fittest refers to fit variants within a population leaving more copies of themselves through reproduction, while less fit variants reproduce less or disappear over generations.
How did the industrial revolution impact the population of peppered moths in the United Kingdom?
The industrial revolution caused pollution that darkened the environment, making white peppered moths more visible to predators and giving a reproductive advantage to dark moths.
Why did dark-winged peppered moths have a reproductive advantage during the industrial revolution?
Dark-winged peppered moths had a reproductive advantage during the industrial revolution because they were less visible to predators in the increasingly polluted environment.
Explain how natural selection can lead to the emergence of new species.
Natural selection can lead to the emergence of new species by favoring certain traits that provide a reproductive advantage, causing those traits to become dominant in a population over generations.
Why is it important for traits to be heritable in the context of natural selection?
It is important for traits to be heritable because if advantageous traits can be passed down from parent to offspring, there will be a reproductive advantage, leading to the concept of 'fitness' in evolutionary theory.
Test your knowledge on Charles Darwin and his theory of natural selection, which revolutionized our understanding of evolution. Explore examples such as the evolution of peppered moths during the industrial revolution.
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