Lecture 3: Evolution & Darwin

Question 1

features of a divinely inspired creation

Answer 1

1) supreme being made and placed humans on earth
2) organisms look and function according to given design
3) species don’t change

Question 2

common descent

Answer 2

-a group of organisms descending from a common ancestor

Question 3

transmutation of species

Answer 3

-all life came from the same common ancestors and the commonn ancestor mutated and over time created new specie

Question 4

binomial nomenclature

Answer 4

• created by Carolus Linnaeus

- genus and species classifying of organisms

Question 5

nested hierarchy of organisms

Answer 5

kingdom > phylum > class > order > family > genus > species

Question 6

sedimentation

Answer 6

-sediments deposited by water were compressed to form stone

Question 7

erosion

Answer 7

-rock exposed to the elements, break down into sediment

Question 8

gradualism

Answer 8

-profound change is the cumulative product of slow but continuous process

Question 9

great geologic cycle

Answer 9

-the coupling of destruction by erosion and renewal by sedimentation

Question 10

“we find no vestige of a beginning [of time], no prospect of an end”

Answer 10

• James Hutton
• realized geologic structures were not simple and immutable
• time and natural processes causes gradual change og earth

Question 11

“invisible hand”

Answer 11

-the tendency of market prices to direct individuals pursuing their own self interests into productive activities that also promote economic well-being of society

Question 12

competition and self interest

Answer 12

• believed human motives in the economy were often selfishness and greed but the competition in the free market would tend to benefit society bc it would keep prices low and build incentives for there to be a wide variety of goods and services available
• less competitve sellers will not succeed; if you can’t compete you won’t survive

Question 13

lamarckian evolution

Answer 13

-believed that if a species acquired a trait in its lifetime it would be passed onto offspring (now proven false)

Question 14

acquired traits

Answer 14

-traits you acquire during your lifetime do not get passed on

Question 15

the rold of disasters in keeping the food supply in line with the population

Answer 15

• belief of Thomas Malthus
• bc populations grow geometrically, while food supplies only grow linearly, disasters periodically collapse populations enough so that there’s enough food until the next disaster

Question 16

impact of extinction on theories of creation

Answer 16

-implies that god’s plan was imperfect

Question 17

catastrophism

Answer 17

-our world was created as an end product to a catastrophy

Question 18

“the present is the key to the past”

Answer 18

• belief of Charles Lyell
• geological remains from the distant past can and should be explained by geographical processes
• relates to his idea of uniformitarianism

Question 19

uniformitarianism

Answer 19

-idea that geologic processes should be the same as they were in the past

Question 20

atolls

Answer 20

-rings of island that appear around oceanic volcanoes

Question 21

wallace’s line

Answer 21

• boundary line that separates the realms of asia and australia
• marks the faunal division btwn these 2 areas

Question 22

Anaximander

Answer 22

• all organisms has common ancestor (common descent)

- wrote about the transmutation of species

Question 23

Carolus Linnaeus

Answer 23

• wanted to understand divine plan by seeking similarity among organisms
• developed nomenclature
• created hierarchical classification (kingdom, phylum, etc)

Question 24

James Hutton

Answer 24

• natural processes shape rock formations

- realized gradualism and great geologic cycle couldn’t have happened in a short period of time

Question 25

Adam Smith

Answer 25

- studied competition btwn businesses lowers prices = good for society - nobody made things just bc, ppl made things for profit - lead to natural selection theory

Question 26

Jean-Baptiste Lamark

Answer 26

- created first complete theory on evolution - believed environmental forces shape adaptation - -> thought this occurred through the idea of use and disuse - believed in the importance of acquired traits

Question 27

Thomas Malthus

Answer 27

saw populations grow geometrically, while food supplies grow linearly -outside forces rectify this disparity to lower population size

Question 28

Georges Cuvier

Answer 28

- believed in proponent of catastrophism - verified that extinction occurs - didn't believe in evolution (but a catastrophy destroyed a previous world)

Question 29

Charles Lyell

Answer 29

- believed in uniformitarianism - Darwin was a disciple of him - blieved geologic change was the steady accumulation of minute changes over a long period of time - his view contrasts George Cuvier's

Question 30

Charles Darwin

Answer 30

- drew 1st evolutionary tree | - believed in common descent, transmutation of species, and that the mechanism of evolution is natural selection

Question 31

Alfred Russel Wallace

Answer 31

- travelled in the philippines & created "wallace's line" - came up with natural selection years after Darwin and speak out their discovery together - prompts publication of Darwin's theory

Question 32

Gregor Mendel

Answer 32

- understoof origin of genetic relationships via heredity | - believed that traits are inherited in a predictable fashion

Question 33

James Watson & Francis Crick

Answer 33

- discovered structure of DNA thus building block for evolutionary change - means for heritable information to be stored and passed on

Question 34

megatherium

Answer 34

-giant ground sloth (of mammoth time)

Question 35

glyptodon

Answer 35

-giant armadillo founded in rock strata with modern seashells

Question 36

mockingbirds

Answer 36

-difference in appearance depending what island they come from

Question 37

galapagos tortoises

Answer 37

-can tell which island they came from by looking at them

Question 38

finches

Answer 38

-darwin realized all the birds he saw on the islands were all of the same species but w varying colors and beaks