Darwin's Theory of Evolution

Darwin noticed that many plants and animals seemed well suited to

• being preserved as fossils

• providing humans with food

• surviving in their specific environment

• swimming from South America to the Galapagos Islands

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On the Galapagos Islands, Charles Darwin observed

• completely unrelated species on each of the islands

• species exactly like those found in South America

• somewhat similar species, with traits that suited their particular environments

• species completely unrelated to those found in South America

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Based on the adaptations Charles Darwin observed in finches and tortoises in the Galapagos, he wondered

• if the species living on different islands had been members of the same species

• if finches and tortoises had originated from the same ancestral species

• if all birds on the different islands were finches

• why all tortoises on the different islands were identical

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Geologists Hutton and Lyell suggested that

• Earth is many millions of years old

• geological processes that shaped the Earth are still happening today

• the Earth is a few thousand years old

What did Charles Darwin learn from reading the work of Hutton and Lyell?

• Earth is relatively young

• If the Earth changes, life must change as well

• All geological change is caused by living organisms

• The processes that formed old rocks on Earth do not operate today

Which is a major concept included in Lamarck's theory of evolution?

• Change is the result of survival of the fittest

• Species change over time by passing on acquired characteristics

• Population size decreases the rate of evolution

• Artificial selection is the basis for evolution

The economist Thomas Malthus suggested that

• in the human population, people die faster than babies are born

• there soon would be insufficient food and living space for the growing human population

• in the 1700s, England needed more housing

• the majority of species' offspring die

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Darwin realized that the economist Malthus's theory of population control

• applied only to humans

• could be applied to plant and animal populations

• could be generalized only when populations live in crowded conditions

• explained why the number of deaths exceeded that of births

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Charles Darwin's observation that tortoises of different species on the Galapagos Islands have many similar physical characteristics supports the hypothesis that these tortoises

• have the ability to interbreed

• acquired traits through use and disuse

• all eat the same type of food

• descended from a common ancestor

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According to Darwin's theory of natural selection, individuals who survive are the ones best adapted for their environment. Their survival is due to the

• possession of adaptations developed through use

• possession of inherited characteristics that maximize fitness

• lack of competition within species

• choices made by plant and animal breeders

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