Ideas That Influenced Darwin

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Deep Time Noun

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[deep tahym]

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Deep Time

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The concept that Earth's history stretches back over a period of time so long it is difficult for humans to imagine.

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Example: This diagram shows many layers of rock stacked on top of each other. Each layer took a very long time to form, so the entire stack represents the vastness of geological history, known as Deep Time.

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Uniformitarianism Noun

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[yoo-nuh-fawr-mi-tair-ee-uh-niz-uhm]

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Uniformitarianism

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The principle that geological processes seen today are the same ones that shaped Earth millions of years ago.

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Example: This diagram shows that slow, continuous processes like weathering, deposition, and uplift have shaped the Earth's surface over long periods, a key idea of uniformitarianism.

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Acquired Characteristics Noun

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[uh-kwahyuhrd kar-ik-ter-is-tiks]

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Acquired Characteristics

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Traits altered by an individual organism during its life, which Lamarck incorrectly hypothesized could be passed to offspring.

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Example: This image shows a giraffe stretching its neck to reach leaves, illustrating Lamarck's idea that traits developed during an organism's life can be passed on.

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Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics Noun

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[in-her-i-tuhns uhv uh-kwahyuhrd kar-ik-ter-is-tiks]

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Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics

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Lamarck's unsupported principle that an organism could pass traits acquired during its lifetime on to its offspring.

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Example: This image shows a giraffe stretching its neck to reach higher leaves, illustrating the idea that traits acquired through effort during an organism's life can be developed.

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Adaptation Noun

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[ad-ap-tey-shuhn]

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Adaptation

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A heritable characteristic that increases an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in its specific environment.

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Example: This diagram shows how different finch species developed unique beak shapes (adaptations) to eat specific types of food, a key observation by Darwin.

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Struggle for Existence Noun

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[struhg-uhl fawr eg-zis-tuhns]

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Struggle for Existence

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The concept that more individuals are produced than can survive, leading to competition for limited resources.

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Example: Multiple hands reaching for one loaf of bread illustrates competition for limited resources, a key part of the struggle for existence.

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Differential Reproductive Success Noun

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[dif-uh-ren-shuhl ree-proh-duhk-tiv suhk-ses]

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Differential Reproductive Success

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The outcome where only a fraction of offspring survive to reproduce and pass on their traits to the next generation.

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Example: This diagram shows that when an antibiotic is introduced, non-resistant bacteria die while resistant bacteria survive, demonstrating differential reproductive success.

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Inherited Variation Noun

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[in-her-i-tid vair-ee-ey-shuhn]

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Inherited Variation

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Differences among individuals of a species that are passed from parents to offspring, providing the raw material for evolution.

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Example: This diagram shows how different combinations of alleles (A, a) on chromosomes create genetic differences, such as homozygous (AA, aa) and heterozygous (Aa) pairs.

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Artificial Selection Noun

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[ahr-tuh-fish-uhl si-lek-shuhn]

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Artificial Selection

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A process where nature provides inherited variations, and humans select and breed individuals with variants they find useful.

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Example: Humans artificially selected a wild Brassica plant for different traits, like its leaves or flower buds, to create familiar vegetables like kale, broccoli, and cabbage.