Lesson Purpose
Life first appeared on Earth around 3.8 billion years ago - not long after the Earth itself - and life forms have been changing and diversifying ever since. How is it possible for scientists to know about the history of life? What methods do they use to study life and how has it evolved over time? The methods scientists use to reconstruct the story of living things and how they change over time also change over time. New techniques and instruments are constantly being developed to look more deeply into the world of cells and DNA.
The outcomes of this lesson are: 1.) To use evidence to explain adaptation and evolution, including Darwin’s theory of natural selection and DNA.
The outcomes of this lesson are: 1.) To use evidence to explain adaptation and evolution, including Darwin’s theory of natural selection and DNA.
Activity 1 - The Voyage of the Beagle
Activity Objectives
Charles Darwin’s work was critical to the development of evolutionary thinking, and his claims about how species change over time were fuelled by his experiences as a young man on a research ship called the HMS Beagle. In this activity, you will learn how to interpret images and maps in order to extract information about Darwin’s trip to the Galapagos Islands. Activity Tasks
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Activity 2 - 'Darwin, Evolution, and Faith'
Activity Objectives
You will learn about the relationship between faith and science with particular focus on evolution and Darwin’s struggle to publish his work on natural selection. Activity Tasks
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Activity 3 - 'Crick, Watson, & Franklin'
Activity Objectives
In order to understand the characteristics of life, you must learn about the importance of DNA. This article explains how scientists built upon collective learning to discover the structure of DNA. Activity Tasks
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Activity 4 - Codes H2
Codes provide the instructions for life, chemistry, and technology thus connecting the Big History thresholds of new chemical elements, life, and the Modern Revolution.
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Activity Objectives
Everything around us is equipped with a code, whether it’s used to program a computer, create a chemical formula, or provide instructions for the replication of cells in a living organism. Codes are as important to biology as they are to technology. Activity Tasks
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Activity 5 - Evolution and Life Timeline
Activity Objectives
You should have been creating timelines regularly at this point in the course, and you should be getting the hang of them and the ways in which they can be useful. Creating timelines adds another dimension to your understanding by providing yet another way to contextualize and understand content. This type of analysis is different from those used when reading, watching videos, or having class discussions. Activity Tasks
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Investigation 5 - How does Extinction Drive Evolution?
Investigation Objectives
In this Investigation, you will evaluate how extinction events relate to the evolutionary process. You will revisit concepts like adaptive radiation, biodiversity, and niches. What happens in the immediate aftermath of an extinction event when organisms are exterminated and their niches are left empty? How do habitats, which were once teeming with webs of life, recover, only to support new webs, unique and different from the first? What determines which organisms survive events like asteroid strikes or extreme volcanic activity? These are only a few of the very important questions that remain after a disaster in biodiversity. Investigation Tasks You will write a 4-5 paragraph essay on the question: 'How does Extinction drive Evolution?', using past extinction events as your case studies. Complete the following steps to finish your investigation:
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Challenge Yourself! - Optional Activities
1. The HMS Beagle Project is modern version of the sailing ship that carried Charles Darwin on the famous sea voyage.
2. A caricature of Charles Darwin captures the "men from monkeys" controversy that followed publication of The Descent of Man.
3. In 2003, The Human Genome Project completed a massive scientific research project that sequenced all three billion chemical units that make up human DNA.
4. "Great coders are today's rockstars." -will.i.am
2. A caricature of Charles Darwin captures the "men from monkeys" controversy that followed publication of The Descent of Man.
3. In 2003, The Human Genome Project completed a massive scientific research project that sequenced all three billion chemical units that make up human DNA.
4. "Great coders are today's rockstars." -will.i.am