10 Evolution Site-Related Projects To Extend Your Creativity

Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution

Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misconceptions persist about evolution. People who have been exposed to popular science myths often assume that biologists do not believe in evolution.

This site, which is a companion to the PBS series offers teachers with resources that support evolution education and help avoid the kinds of myths that undermine it. It's laid out in a "bread crumb" format to make navigation and orientation easier.

Definitions

Evolution is a complicated and challenging subject to teach well. Many non-scientists are unable to grasp the concept and some scientists use a definition which confuses it. This is especially relevant when discussing the nature of the words themselves.

It is therefore important to define the terms used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a clear and helpful way. The site is both a companion for the 2001 series, and also a resource on its own. The content is presented in a nested fashion which aids navigation and orientation.

The site defines terms such as common ancestor and the gradual process. These terms help to define the nature of evolution and its relationship to evolution to other scientific concepts. The site then offers an overview of how the concept of evolution has been tested and validated. This information can help dispel myths created by creationists.

It is also possible to find a glossary of terms that are used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:

The process of adaptation is the tendency of heritable traits to become better suited to an environment. This is the result of natural selection. Organisms that have better-adapted traits are more likely than those with less-adapted traits to survive and reproduce.

Common ancestor (also called common ancestor) is the most recent ancestor that is shared by two or more species. The common ancestor can be identified by analyzing the DNA of these species.

Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A large biological molecular that contains the information needed for cell replication. The information is contained in sequences of nucleotides that are strung together into long chains, referred to as chromosomes. Mutations are the source of new genetic information in cells.

Coevolution is a relationship between two species where evolutionary changes in one species are influenced by evolutionary changes in the other. Coevolution can be seen in the interactions between predator and prey, or parasites and hosts.

Origins

Species (groups that can interbreed), evolve through a series of natural changes in their offspring's traits. The changes can be caused by a variety of factors that include natural selection, genetic drift, and mixing of genes. The evolution of new species can take thousands of years. Environmental conditions, such as climate changes or competition for food and habitat can slow or speed up the process.

The Evolution site traces through time the emergence of various species of plants and animals, focusing on major transitions within each group's past. It also focuses on the evolutionary origin of humans and humans, a subject that is particularly important for students to know.

Darwin's Origin was written in 1859, when just a handful of antediluvian fossils of human beings had been discovered. The famous skullcap, 에볼루션 바카라 체험 with the bones that accompanied it were discovered in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto of Germany. It is now recognized as an early Homo neanderthalensis. While the skullcap wasn't published until 1858, one year before the first edition of the Origin was published, it is extremely unlikely that Darwin had seen or heard of it.

The site is primarily one of biology however it also includes lots of information about paleontology and geology. Among the best features of the website are a set of timelines which show the way in which climatic and geological conditions have changed over time as well as a map of the distribution of a few fossil groups that are featured on the site.

The site is a companion for a PBS TV series but it could be used as a source for teachers and students. The site is well organized and provides clear links between the introductory content in Understanding Evolution (developed with support from the National Science Foundation) and the more specialized components of the museum's Web site. These links facilitate the transition from the enthralling cartoon style of the Understanding Evolution pages to the more sophisticated world of research science. There are links to John Endler’s experiments with guppies. They illustrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.

Diversity

The evolution of life has produced an array of animals, plants and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures in their geographical context and offers a number of advantages over the modern observational and research methods in its exploration of evolutionary phenomena. In addition to exploring processes and events that take place regularly or over a long period of time, paleobiology allows to examine the relative abundance of various species of organisms and their distribution in space over the geological time.

The website is divided into several optional paths to learning evolution which include "Evolution 101," which takes the viewer on a liner path through the nature of science and the evidence that supports the theory of evolution. The course also focuses on common misconceptions about evolution and the evolution of thought.

Each of the main sections of the Evolution website is equally well-designed, with materials that are suited to a variety of curriculum levels and teaching styles. In addition to the general textual content, the site features a wide range of interactive and multimedia resources, such as video clips, animations, and virtual labs. The content is presented in a nested bread crumb style that facilitates navigation and orientation on the web site.

For example, the page "Coral Reef Connections" gives a brief overview of coral relationships and their interaction with other organisms. It then zooms in on a single clam that is able to communicate with its neighbors and respond to changes in the water conditions at the level of the reef. This page, 에볼루션 바카라 체험 as well as the other multidisciplinary, 에볼루션바카라사이트 multimedia and interactive pages on the site, offer an excellent introduction to a broad range of topics in evolutionary biology. The content includes an overview of the role of natural selectivity and the concept phylogenetics analysis, an important tool to understand evolutionary change.

Evolutionary Theory

Evolution is an underlying thread that connects all branches of biology. A rich collection supports teaching evolution across all disciplines of life science.

One resource, a companion to the PBS television series Understanding Evolution, is an excellent example of an Web site that provides depth and breadth in its educational resources. The site has a variety of interactive learning modules. It also has an embedded "bread crumb" structure that helps students move from the cartoon style of Understanding Evolution to elements on this large Web site closer to the world of research science. An animation that introduces the concept of genetics, which links to a page about John Endler's experiments with artificial selection using guppies on native ponds in Trinidad.

Another resource that is worth mentioning is the Evolution Library on this site, which contains an extensive multimedia library of assets connected to evolution. The content is organized according to the form of curriculum-based pathways that are in line with the learning goals set forth in the biology standards. It contains seven short videos specifically designed for classroom use. They can be streamed or purchased as DVDs.

Many important questions remain at the heart of evolutionary biology, such as what causes evolution to occur and the speed at which it occurs. This is particularly applicable to human evolution where it's been difficult to reconcile the notion that the innate physical characteristics of humans were derived from apes and religions that believe that humans are unique among living things and has a special place in creation, with a soul.

There are also a number of other ways evolution can occur, with natural selection as the most widely accepted theory. Scientists also study different types such as genetic drift, 에볼루션 바카라 무료 and sexual selection.

Although many scientific fields of study are in conflict with literal interpretations in religious texts, evolution biology has been a source of intense debate and opposition from religious fundamentalists. Certain religions have reconciled their beliefs with evolution, while others haven't.