What was Darwin's major points about evolution?

Answer 1

It denotes Darwin's specific view of how evolution works. Darwin developed the concept that evolution is brought about by the interplay of three principles: variation (present in all forms of life), heredity (the force that transmits similar organic form from one generation to another), and the struggle for existence (which determines the variations that will be advantageous in a given environment, thus altering the species through selective reproduction).

Answer 2

Jean Baptiste Lamarck published a theory of evolution in 1809 (the same year (the same year Darwin was born).

Lamarck suggested that characteristics which were acquired during an individual's life could be inherted by their offspring. For example if a giraffe stretched its nesk reaching for food higher up in trees, the offspring of the giraffe would have longer necks than other giraffes.

This idea is called the inheritance of acquired charateristics.

The main problem with this idea is that it doesn't work! The way in which characteristics are inherited was not known at this time.

• Lamarck proposed a theory that organisms got their characteristics due to the behaviour of the parents. Example: Giraffes' necks get longer and longer from generations of neck stretching.
• Darwin proposed that if the neck was slightly longer for an organism then it was more likely to get food and thus survive long enough to have offspring and, therefore, pass this characteristic onto the next generation. Over time the shorter necked giraffes disappear from the population.
• Neither scientist knew about genes. Gregor Mendel was doing important research in this area about the same time.
• Both scientists tried to explain what they observed.
• Larmark's theory was discounted although there is now evidence that there is some truth in it. Example: The diet of a grandmother will affect the development or switching on/off of some genes of her unborn child. These genes then affect the genes of the next generation. The health of our grandmother influences our health!

Answer 3

Darwin said that as time passed animals would find new ways of surviving and slowly their body would get adjusted to it.For example, giraffes used to have short necks. their food was on the tall trees and they would not be able to reach it.As time assed, they would stretch their necks and the ones with short necks died off. the ones with long necks survived because since their necks were long they were able to reach their food and they would not starve.

Answer 4

Darwin wanted to explain the variety of life in the world. His main point is that species primarily survive by certain adaptations to their environments. These adaptations might be helping them move through the environment (from flagella on single-celled organisms to specific tendons in a cheetah), locate or obtain food (better senses of smell), defenses against predators (moths blending in with tree bark, hard turtle shells), and so-on. From there you can explain all biological features as some sort of adaptation, sometimes increasing in size or complexity, but primarily relating to a species's ability to survive and reproduce, thus keeping its line going.

Answer 5

1. physical traits and characteristics allow species to survive. (fitness) 2. fitness results from adaptation 3. adaptations result from natural selection and result in evolution.