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Question

1. Upon which facts did Darwin base his theory of evolution?

2. Why is there an adaptation of a female sea turtle to lay more eggs?

3. How is the age of a fossil determined by radio active dating?

4. How does the length of an element's half life relate to its usefulness for dating purposes?

5. How do footprints help scientists in fossil study?

Answer 1

Darwin developed his theory of evolution over 20 years.Influenced by the ideas of Thomas Malthus, he proposed a theory of evolution occurring by the process of natural selection. The animals (or plants) best suited to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing on the characteristics which helped them survive to their offspring. Gradually, the species changes over time. It was during Darwin's journeys on the British survey ship HMS Beagle and on The Galápagos Islands that he saw the variations in different species that led him to develop the idea of natural selection.

Female Sea Turtles lay at night and lay hundreds of eggs ata time, both of these adaptations decrease the likelihood of predation; increasing the chances of more baby turtles making it to the sea.

The principle behind radiocarbon dating is that when a plant or animal dies, it stops processing carbon.The rate of decay of the carbon is measured using a formula. Thus any material that is organic can be dated relatively accurately.The process was developed by Dr Willard F. Libby in 1948 at the University of Chicago He discovered that carbon decayed at the rate that, if projected, would cause half of its weight to be lost in 5568 years. Hence, the term ‘half-life’ was given to radioactive substances.

Fossilised footprints can reveal a great deal. Scientists can estimate the weight, height and anatomy of the creature from a footprint. They can also tell when the creature lived by looking at the geological strata in which the footprint occurs. This may also reveal information about the climate and plants around at the time the footprint was created.



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Answer 2

4. Because the radioactive half-life of a given radioisotope is not affected by temperature, physical or chemical state, or any other influence of the environment outside the nucleus save direct particle interactions with the nucleus, then radioactive samples continue to decay at a predictable rate. That is, any radioactive nucleus acts as a clock. If determinations or reasonable estimates of the original composition of a radioactive sample can be made, then the amounts of the radioisotopes present can provide a measurement of the time elapsed.

Answer 3

Darwin's early interest in nature led him to neglect his course in medicine at Edinburgh University and instead help to investigate marine invertebrates, then the University of Cambridge encouraged a passion for natural science.[7] His five-year voyage on HMS Beagle established him as an eminent geologist whose observations and theories supported Charles Lyell's uniformitarian ideas, and publication of his journal of the voyage made him famous as a popular author.[8]



Puzzled by the geographical distribution of wildlife and fossils he collected on the voyage, Darwin investigated the transmutation of species and conceived his theory of natural selection in 1838.[9] Although he discussed his ideas with several naturalists, he needed time for extensive research and his geological work had priority.[10] He was writing up his theory in 1858 when Alfred Russel Wallace sent him an essay which described the same idea, prompting immediate joint publication of both of their theories.[11] Darwin's work established evolutionary descent with modification as the dominant scientific explanation of diversification in nature.[3] In 1871 he examined human evolution and sexual selection in The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, followed by The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. His research on plants was published in a series of books, and in his final book, he examined earthworms and their effect on soil.[12]



In recognition of Darwin's pre-eminence as a scientist, he was one of only five 19th-century UK non-royal personages to be honoured by a state funeral,[13] and was buried in Westminster Abbey, close to John Herschel and Isaac Newton.[14]