evolution

• the theory of evolution is the belief that all of today's species have evolved from simple life form that first started to develop over three billion years ago
• the theory of evolution was introduced by charles darwin
• charles darwin developed his ideas on natural selection while travelling around the world on hms beagle
• natural selection is the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce than those less well-adapted
• during natural selection, individuals with advantageous traits will pass them onto offspring which increases the frequency of these traits within the population
• evolution occurs when there is an increase in the frequency of certain alleles or genes within a population due to natural selection acting upon genetic variation
• a trait can only evolve if it has an effect on survival or reproduction
• evolution occurs when there is an increase in the frequency of certain alleles or genes within a population due to natural selection
• the development of new species is called speciation
• species are groups of similar organisms that can interbreed to produce fertile offspring
• extinction occurs when no individuals of a species remain
• darwin's theory was largely rejected when it first appeared as it opposed common religious beliefs
• jean-baptiste lamarck argues that changes an organism acquires during its lifetime would be passed onto offspring