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Charles Darwin's theory of evolution is important to the real world today for many reasons. It allows scientists to solve biological problems, understand how and why changes in living things were made, and help new generations of living things use their resources better to survive. An example of evolution occurring in real life is in finches. Finches look a little bit different depending on where they live because they evolved and adapted to their environment to benefit themselves.

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•The biggest part missing from Charles Darwin's initial theory was that he didn't know how heredity worked.

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•Charles Darwin proposed that animals with similar bone structure (even if they are used for different things) share a common ancestor with the basic version of that structure.

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•Evolution takes time.

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•Biogeography is the study of where species live now compared to where their ancestors lived.

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•Because Darwin's theory requires life to have been on Earth for a long time, his theory implies that life on Earth and the Earth itself is over millions of years old, not thousands.

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•Charles Darwin stated that all living species are descended,with modifications, from common ancestors, which he called descent with modification.

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•Charles Darwin proposed that over many generations, adaptations could cause successful species to accumulate enough adaptations that they would evolve into a completely new species.

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•If an environment changes faster than a species can adapt that species may become extinct.

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•Natural Selection does not always move in the same direction. If a given environment conditions change, some traits that were beneficial may no longer be useful and different traits may become beneficial.

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•Charles Darwin realized that if more individuals are produced than can survive, members of a population must compete to obtain food, living space, and other necessities of life.

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•Charles Darwin noticed that species vary globally, locally, and over time.

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•Charles Darwin came up with his scientific theory (evolution) while on a voyage around the world.

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•Charles Darwin went on a voyage around the world from 1831-1836 on the HMS Beagle.

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•Before Charles Darwin, scientists had already suggested that life on Earth had changed or "evolved", but they didn't know how and they didn't an explanation or a theory.

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What conclusion did Darwin come to based on what he observed of the finches and tortoises while he was in the Galapagos islands?

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What conclusion did Darwin come to based on what he observed of the finches and tortoises while he was in the Galapagos islands?

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He concluded that the finches and tortoises have a common ancestor.

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What is an example of a homologous structure?

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What is an example of a homologous structure?

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The limbs of humans, cats, whales, and bats

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What is an example of a vestigial structure?

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What is an example of a vestigial structure?

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Wisdom Teeth

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What does natural selection act directly on?

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What does natural selection act directly on?

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Phenotypes

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Darwin and Natural Selection: Crash Course History of Science #22

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An ancestral organism that is shared by two or more descendent lineages.

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They are similar physical features in organisms that share a common ancestor, but the features serve completely different functions.

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All species that are living and extinct are descended from a common ancestor.

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The organisms that are best adjusted to their environment are the most successful in surviving and reproducing.

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The study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.

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A branch of biology that deals with similar patterns in embryo development that provide further evidence that organisms have descended from a common ancestor.

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Something that gets inherited from ancestors, but has lost its original function due to selection.

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The process by which organisms with variations most suited for their environment survive and pass on their traits to offspring

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The identification by humans of desirable traits in plants and animals, and the steps taken to enhance and perpetuate those traits in future generations.

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The process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth.