Chapter 7 Section 1

 Identify 2 kinds of evidence that show that

organisms have evolved.

 Describe one pathway through which a

modern whale could have evolved from an
ancient mammal.

 Explain how comparing organisms can

provide evidence that they have ancestors
in common.
 Respond to this prompt:

The cockroach originated on Earth more than

250 million years ago and is thriving today all
over the world. A giant deer (more than 2 m
tall!) evolved less than 1 million years ago and
became extinct around 11,000 years ago.

Why do you think one animal thrived and the

other perished?
 Vocabulary:
 Adaptation:
◦ An adaptation that helps an organism survive and
reproduce in its environment
 Species:
◦ A group of organisms that can mate with one another
to produce fertile offspring
 Evolution:
◦ The process in which populations gradually change
over time; inherited characteristics within a
population change over generations – new species
sometimes arise
 Text page 166; figures 1,2,3

 Compare the frogs.

 Discuss the unique adaptations of each

◦ If you see a frog that looks like one of these frogs,
can you assume that they are both the same
species?

◦ How can you tell?

 Vocabulary:

 Fossils:
◦ The remains or imprints of once-living organisms
found in layers of rock
◦ most commonly preserved in sedimentary rock

 Fossil record:
◦ A historical sequence of life indicated by fossils
found in layers of the Earth’s crust
◦ organized by estimated ages and physical
similarities
 Fossil record provides evidence about the
order in which species existed

 Scientists think that all living species

descended from common ancestors

 Ex: whales and hoofed animals pg. 169,

figure 6
◦ “tree of life”
◦ gaps in fossil record
 Case study: Evolution of the Whale
◦ Whales are mammals (breathe air, give birth to
live young, produce milk)
◦ Seem similar to fish

◦ Ancient ancestor: four-legged land mammal

◦ Fossil evidence (pg. 170-171)

 Pakicetus, Ambulocetus, Dorudon, Modern toothed
whale

◦ Walking whales: shared traits, hip bones…

 Comparing Skeletal Structures
◦ Compare: your arm, wing of a bat, leg of a cat, flipper
of a dolphin
◦ Similar structure and order of bones
◦ Common ancestor

 Comparing DNA
◦ The greater the similarities in DNA for two sets of
species, the more closely related through a common
ancestor
◦ All existing species have DNA
 Use the words adaptations, population, and
evolution in a sentence.

 Why are scientists unsure about some parts

of the “tree of life” on Earth?