Biology Virtual Field Trip and Scavenger Hunt: Charles Darwin and Evolution

Transcription

1 Name: Period: Biology Virtual Field Trip and Scavenger Hunt: Charles Darwin and Evolution Directions: Go to and follow the directions to answer the following questions. Click on The World Before Darwin. You will find the answers to the next few 1. What was the generally accepted idea about species at this time? 2. How old was the Earth thought to be at this time? 3. From radiometric dating, how old do we now know that Earth really is? 4. Before Darwin s time, with the exception of a few naturalists, what was the prevailing view of humans? 5. Name two other people besides Charles Darwin that speculated that species had evolved. Click on Young Naturalist. You will find the answers to the next few questions here, although you may need to visit the other links under this heading as 6. What subjects did Darwin enjoy learning about as a teenager? 7. What two careers had his father chosen for him to pursue? 8. Which one of Darwin s hobbies stood out above all others?

2 9. Darwin was especially encouraged by early evolutionist Robert Grant. What interested Grant and why? 10. Summarize Darwin s experience with two rare beetles. 11. Which event did Darwin himself say influenced his career more than any other? 12. How did Darwin do on his degree exam in January of 1831? 13. What was Darwin s mother s name and how old was he when she died? 14. Tell me a little about Charles Darwin s paternal grandfather. 15. In what ways were the Darwin families and Wedgwood families linked? Click on A Trip Around the World. You will find the answers to the next few 16. How did Charles father initially feel about his son s invitation to go on a trip around the world as a naturalist? Did his opinion ever change and if so, what

3 changed it? 17. What was the primary purpose of the trip taken by the HMS Beagle? 18. Where on Darwin s 5-year journey did he become inspired to write about geology? 19. What were Darwin s observations of the steamer duck? 20. Most Galapagos animals tend to blend in with their surroundings although some do not. What are two animals that are brightly colored on the islands and why is this the case? 21. Why are brachiopod fossils excellent for dating the rocks they are found in? 22. How was Darwin able to keep in touch with family members and other scientists during his five-year journey on the Beagle? 23. On the Galapagos, Darwin found plants that were related to daisies and sunflowers, but grew to the size of trees. What allowed them to do this? 24. What makes the Galapagos penguin unique?

4 Click on The Idea Takes Shape. You will find the answers to the next few 25. Why did Darwin keep his ideas under wraps for nearly two decades? 26. Pick two other items from this section that interest you and list them here. Click on A Life s Work. You will find the answers to the next few questions here, although you may need to visit the other links under this heading as 27. Name another book that Darwin published besides The Origin of Species? 28. What prompted Darwin to finally get his theory into print? 29. Pick two other items from this section that interest you and list them here. Click on Evolution Today. You will find the answers to the next few questions here, although you may need to visit the other links under this heading as

5 30. How many species of finches live in the Galapagos Islands today? 31. When did chimpanzees and humans diverge from a common ancestor? 32. What is V.I.S.T.A.? 33. Name the five human vestiges mentioned in this section. 34. Pick two other items from this section that interest you and list them here. Click on Endless Forms Most Beautiful. You will find the answers to the next few 35. Explain the relationship between the Angraecum sesquipedale orchid in Madagascar and the giant hawk moth. 36. What is the name of Darwin s great-great-grandson? Now that your field trip is complete: 37. Where is the American Museum of Natural History located? 38. I m sure that you ve learned at least a few things about Darwin and his theory of evolution by completing this assignment. List the first two things that come to mind now that your journey is complete.