Darwin and Darwin and EvolutionEvolution Key: AWL to Study, Low-frequency Vocabulary

Who is Charles Darwin? What is evolution?

1831–1836: Voyage of 1831–1836: Voyage of ExplorationExploration

• Darwin traveled on the Beagle. knew the Earth was very old knew fossils represented extinct species knew living organisms were related in groups

Where did Darwin travel on his voyage of exploration?

Ambitious NaturalistAmbitious Naturalist• Darwin knew that whoever solved the problem of how

new species originated would become famous.

Would you like to explore the natural world like Darwin? Explain.

Darwin’s Darwin’s JournalJournal: 1838: 1838• Natural selection is a process.

Traits that enhance survival become progressively more common in successive generations.

These animals reproduce more. These traits become more pronounced.

How does natural selection work to form a new species?

DiscoveriesDiscoveries• Process of natural selection explains the origin of

adaptation. When adaptations are combined with geographical separation, this could explain the origin of species.

How does natural selection explain the origin of adaptation?

A A ControversialControversial Idea Idea • Darwin feared enormous consequences.

did not publish for 20 years gathered additional evidence

Why was Darwin’s idea controversial?

BombshellBombshell• A letter from Wallace

Wallace also had the idea of natural selection.

If you were Darwin, what would you have done after receiving Wallace’s letter?

Darwin’s Reaction: DespairDarwin’s Reaction: Despair• He thought the honorable course of action would be

to let Wallace publish alone.• Prominent friends encouraged Darwin to arrange for a

joint publication.• Darwin and Wallace published back-to-back papers in 1858.

What might have happened if Darwin hadn’tpublished at this time?

Working RapidlyWorking Rapidly• 1859: Darwin rushed to press with a book.

assembling materials, summarizing evidence and making interpretations

Darwin publishes The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.

The first print run of the book sells out on the first day.

Why do you think the book sold out?

A Sensation A Sensation • The most controversial implication:

Humans descended from apes.

• The book also explained the astonishing diversity and precise adaptation of living things.

Why do you think the book was thought to be so controversial?

Darwin’s WordsDarwin’s Words• To contemplate a tangled bank…

plants of many kinds birds singing in the bushes insects flitting about worms crawling around

Do you like to contemplate nature? Why or why not?

Darwin Reflects Darwin Reflects • Elaborately constructed forms, different from and

dependent upon each other in so complex a manner, are produced by laws. Endless forms have been and are being evolved.

Explain how certain laws have created the diversity of species.