The evolution of living things

1. The Evolution ofLiving Things Changes over Time

2. Differences Among OrganismsAdaptation: a characteristic that helps an organism survive and
reproduce in its environmentAdaptations can be physical, such as a long neck on a giraffe or
striped furAdaptations may be behaviors that help an organism find food (like hunting at night),
protect itself (skunk spraying noxious smell), or reproduce
3. Examples of Adaptations The red-eyed tree frog hides among a trees leaves during the day
and comes out at night View slide
4. The bright coloring of the strawberry poison arrow frog warns predators that the frog is
poisonousView slide
5. The smoky jungle frog blends into the forest floor. This adaptation helps the frog protect itself
from predators.
6. It is believed that a giraffes neck elongated over time to adapt to a food shortage. With a long
neck, a giraffe can reach the highest branches for leaves. This gives it an advantage over other
animals.
7. Species: group of organisms that can mate with one another to produce fertile offspring
Groupsof individuals of the same species living in the same place make up a population
8. Do Species Change Over Time? The species that live on Earth today range from single-celled
bacteria to multicellular fungi, plants, and animals Scientists think that Earth has changed a
great deal during its history, and that living things have changed, too Earth is estimated to be
4.6 billion years old Many species have existed over time, and many have died out
9. Scientists have observed that: *species have changed over time*inherited characteristics in
populations have changed over time*new species have formedtherefore, newer species
descend from older speciesEvolution: the process in which populations gradually change over
time
10. Evidence of Earths crust is arranged in Changes layers made up of different kinds of rock and
soil Over Time stacked on top of one another Layers form when sediments, particles of sand,
dust, or soil are carried by wind and water and deposited in an orderly fashion sedimentary
rock Sometimes, the remains or imprints of once-living organisms are found in the rockthese
remains are called fossils
11. Fossils can be a whole organism, part of an organism, or just a set of footprints
12. Fossil record: a historical sequence indicated by fossils found in layers of the Earths crust -
organizes fossils by (1) their estimated ages and (2)physical similarities-fossils found in newer
layers of Earths crust tend to be similar to present-day organisms
13. Evidence of Ancestry The fossil record provides evidence about the order in which species
have existed Scientists observe that all living organisms have characteristics in common and
inherit characteristics in similar ways Scientists believe that all living species descended from
common ancestors -evidence of this is found in fossils and in living organisms
14. Scientists examine the fossil record to figure out the relationship between extinct and living
organisms Models may be drawn to show how several species were once related
15. Example: Scientists think that whales and some types of hoofed mammals, such as camels and
hippos, have a common ancestor
16. Examining Organisms This ancestor was probably a mammal that lived on land between 50-70
million years ago Examining an organism carefully can give scientists clues about its
ancestors Example: Whales seem very similar to fish, but whales have live young and breathe
air, which makes them a mammal. These traits show scientists that whales evolved from ancient
mammals.
17. Scientists use information about living and ancient species to sketch out a tree of life that
includes all known species
18. Comparing Organisms Evidence that groups of organisms have common ancestry can be found
by comparing the groups DNA Organismscontain evidence that populations and species
undergo changes in traits and DNA over time
19. Example:What doesyour arm have in commonwith the frontleg of a cat, a front flipper of a
dolphin,or the wing of a bat?
20. Thesestructures do not look alike and are not used in the same way Under the surface there
are similarities Thesesimilarities suggest that cats, dolphins, bats, and humans had a common
ancestor
21. Over million of years, changes occurred in the limb bones of the ancestors descendents
Eventually, the bones performed different functions in each type of animal
22. Comparing DNA Traitsare inherited through DNAs genetic code Example: the DNA of a
house cat is similar to the DNA of a tiger
23. Scientists find that species that have many traits in common do have similarities in their DNA
The fact that all existing species have DNA supports the theory that all species share a common
ancestor