15-2 Darwin's Ideas

Front

Who proposed the theory of evolution?

Back

Charles Darwin is known for his theory of evolution, but he was not the first to propose the idea of evolution.

Front

What did Thomas Malthus believe about population growth?

Back

Malthus believed that the power of population growth is indefinitely greater than the power of the Earth to produce subsistence for man.

Front

How do human populations increase according to Malthus?

Back

Human populations increase exponentially.

Front

How do resources like food increase according to Malthus?

Back

Resources like food increase linearly.

Front

Who believed that organisms develop traits needed for survival?

Back

Lamarck believed that organisms develop traits needed for survival.

Front

What happens to traits that are unused according to Lamarck?

Back

Traits that are unused become weaker and gradually disappear.

Front

What is the significance of the Earth's age in Darwin's theory?

Back

Darwin's theory of evolution depends on the condition that the Earth is many billions of years old.

Front

What is natural selection?

Back

Natural selection is the process where organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.

Front

What is the difference between evolution and adaptation?

Back

Evolution refers to the change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations, while adaptation is the process by which a species becomes better suited to its environment.

Front

What is the role of variation in evolution?

Back

Variation is essential for evolution as it provides the raw material for natural selection.