Evolution Packet

Evolution worksheet Name
___________________________________
Read the following situations below and identify the 5 points of

Darwin’s natural selection.
1) There are 2 types of worms: worms that eat at night (nocturnal) and worms that eat during the day
(diurnal). The birds eat during the day and seem to be eating ONLY the diurnal worms. The nocturnal
worms are in their burrows during this time. Each spring when the worms reproduce, they have about 500
babies but only 100 of these 500 ever become old enough to reproduce.
a. What worm has natural selection selected AGAINST? ________________ FOR? _______________
b. Identify the ingredients for natural selection in the scenario above.

The environment is harsh __________________________________________________________________
Population has variations. _________________________________________________________________
Some variations are favorable. _____________________________________________________________
More offspring are produced than survive._________________________________________________
Those that survive have favorable traits. ____________________________________________________
A population will change over time. ________________________________________________________
2) There are 3 types of polar bears: ones with thick coats, ones with thin coats and ones with medium coats. It
is fall, soon to be winter. The temperatures are dropping rapidly and the bears must be kept warm, or they
will freeze to death. Many of the bears have had ~2 cubs each but due to the extreme temperatures, many
mothers only have one cub left.
a. What bear will natural selection select AGAINST? __________________ FOR? ________________

3) In ostriches, there are 2 types: ones that run fast and those that run slowly. The fast birds
can reach up to 40 miles an hour. Jackals love to eat ostrich, and they can reach speeds of
up to 35-40 miles per hour. A flock of ostrich will lay ~ 10 eggs (each mother only lays 1), but many
rodents break into the eggs and eat the fetus before they hatch.
a. What ostrich will natural selection select AGAINST? _________________ FOR? _______________

4) There are two types of rabbits: those that strictly eat grass and those that strictly eat berries and flowers. A
drought occurs one year, and the plants have difficulty producing any extras (flowers,
berries, etc.).They can only try and keep themselves green. The rabbits have had babies
all year long but many are eaten by foxes or hawks. Due to the drought, many have
starved to death.
a. What rabbit will natural selection select AGAINST? _________________ FOR? ________________

Population has variations. _____________________________________________________________
Read about Lamarck and his theory of aquired characteristics (textbook page 456):
5) Bob believes that giraffes have long necks because they have stretched their necks to try and reach food that
is high in trees. Since the parent had stretched its neck, it passed the long neck on to its offspring.
Ryan believes that giraffes have long necks because the ones with long necks were able to reach the
food, and those with short necks could not and died. The long necked giraffes reproduced, and soon
all of the giraffes had long necks.
a. Who thinks like Lamarck? ___________________________________
b. Who thinks like Darwin? ____________________________________
c. what was wrong about Lamarck’s theory?

_____________________________________________________________________
d. What was Lamarck CORRECT about?

_______________________________________________________________________
The Age of Earth and Fossils
11. The illustrations below show organisms whose fossils make up part of the fossil record. The organisms are in order
from oldest to most recent. In the boxes, draw an animal that might have been an intermediate form between the
shown organisms.
12. Describe a situation in which organism 3 might have had an advantage over organism 2.
__________________________________________________________________________
Comparing Anatomy and Development
13. Complete the table about types of anatomical structures.
Types of Anatomical Structures
Structure Type Description Example
Similar structures in related species that

have been inherited from a common
ancestor
Body parts that share common function

but not structure
Homologous structures that are so

reduced in size that they are just
vestiges, or traces, of structures in
other species
For Questions 14-18, match the structure with the correct type. A structure type may be used more than once.
Anatomical Structure
Structure Type
_______ 14. bat wing and mouse arm
A. homologous structure
_______ 15. reptile foot and bird foot B. analogous structure
_______ 16. dolphin fin and fish tail C. vestigial structure
_______ 17. eyes on a blind cave fish

_______ 18. snake tongue and dog nose

Evolution Packet

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Evolution Packet

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Evolution Packet

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Evolution worksheet Name

Read the following situations below and identify the 5 points of

b. Identify the ingredients for natural selection in the scenario above.

b. Identify the ingredients for natural selection in the scenario above.

b. Identify the ingredients for natural selection in the scenario above.

b. Identify the ingredients for natural selection in the scenario above.

c. what was wrong about Lamarck’s theory?

d. What was Lamarck CORRECT about?

Types of Anatomical Structures

Structure Type Description Example

Similar structures in related species that

Body parts that share common function

Homologous structures that are so

_______ 17. eyes on a blind cave fish

You might also like