Evolution is.. Evolution is not..

It is a lot more fun to actually use biotechnology than it is to talk about it, so rather than complete chapter 12 as a separate topic, it will be incorporated into lab time. As a result it is time to start chapter 13!

Class started today with a brainstorming session answering the prompts "Evolution is..." and "Evolution is not..." There were some great talking points and questions raised during this time. After brainstorming, students took a pre-assessment survey at the end of the unit students will take this survey again. One statement in the survey (number 15) is: "Evolution is only a theory." To directly address this statement, we watched an excerpt from the PBS series Evolution.


The next clip we watched addresses section 13.1: A sea voyage helped Darwin frame his theory of evolution.



In this clip Darwin talks about a "tree of life," today scientists can you cladograms (like the ones below) to show evolutionary relationships. Cladograms can be simple representations like this one....Or they can be the result of complex research involving only genus and specie, like this one for dinosaurs. Click the picture to make it larger.

In lab this week you will be making cladograms using genetic sequences.