charles darwin and the tree of life

1. In the Galapagos Islands, what led Darwin to suspect that species were not ‘fixed’ throughout time?

2. On what basis should different breeds of dogs be considered different species?

3. Why did Darwin delay publishing his theory?

4. Who was Alfred Russell Wallace and what role did he play in the publication of Darwin’s book?

5. Throughout many layers of sandstone, fossils progressed from simple organisms (deep in the rock layers) to complex organisms (higher in the layers). How did the explanation of this obvious sequence differ between Richard Owen and Charles Darwin?

6. If everything has a common ancestor, how are similar species distributed worldwide?

7. Describe how the human eye evolved from simpler eye-like structures.

8. How does modern genetics show that all life is related?

9. How is the shape, distribution, genetic similarity, fossil evidence, and diversity of species all explained by evolution by natural selection?

10. How has this course changed how you would describe evolution (as a theory) to your friends and family? (I’m not interested in your religious perspective, merely how would you explain the SCIENCE of evolution).