Evolution P2 - 10/8/17

Image result for natural selection

Summary:
Natural Selection is when organisms who are better adapted to fit their surrounding conditions outlive those who aren't and pass down their genes. Out of the five fingers of evolution, natural selection is the only one that can cause adaptations. The idea of natural selection was first proposed by Charles Darwin, who stated that nature could determine which organisms survive and which don't. He traveled on the HMS Beagle and he made important discoveries through South America and wrote a famous book called, the Origin of Species. Darwin saw that birds on different islands acted the same, but looked different. Finches in different environments adapted to have a type of beak that suits their specific environmental so they can eat the food in their environment, he observed. Which sparked Darwin's theory of Natural Selection.

S&EP-Using Models:
We used a model to show how different species and animals can adapt to certain environments. We tried to use different materials to represent the beaks of birds and pick up the "food" they would eat. This demonstrated how different environments can affect the birds. Some tools were much better at certain things than others. For instance, the scissors were extremely good at picking up worms (represented by rubber bands). So if the environment consisted of mostly worms, the birds with that type of beak would survive the best. In another case, the toothpicks were terrible at picking up fish (marshmallows). So, they would have all died off if there were only fish in their environment.

XCC - Cause and Effect:
The peppered moths is great example of natural selection and cause in effect. Before the industrial revolution, there were many white moths around. Then the industrial revolution hit, and the trees became black and covered in soot. Which sparked the rise of black peppered moths. Then after 50 years of so, the pollution declined and as the trees became white again, white moths became more popular. This story of the peppered moths is a perfect example of how an environment can determine who lives and dies and how natural selection can come into play. This is also a perfect representation of cause and effect, as when one thing happens, such as the change in color of trees, it causes other things to occur. Natural Selection has brought human's to where they are today, but can also be applied to something as small as a moth.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amedeo Avogadro - 5/27/18

Image
Summary : Amedeo Avogadro was an Italian scientist who created what is now known as Avogadro's law. Known as a founder of the atomic-molecular theory, he was the first scientist to realize that elements could exist in the form of molecules rather than as individual atoms. His biggest contribution to science, Avogadro’s law, states that equal volumes of gasses under the same conditions of pressure and temperature will contain an equal number of molecules. Amedeo Avogadro was born on August 9th 1776 to Filippo Avogadro and Anna Maria Vercellone. Coming from a family of lawyers, Advogadro was guided to a legal career, and became a bachelor of jurisprudence in 1792. Despite a successful legal career; Avogadro has started private studies of mathematics and physics, which then he pursued full time. SP8 - Communicating Information : This week, I communicated information in the form of a wanted poster about a certain scientist. I decided to create a wanted poster about Amedeo
Read more

Roller Coaster Project Blog - 2/18/18

Summary : A roller coaster ride is a thrilling experience which involves a lot of physics. Part of the physics of a roller coaster is the physics of work and energy. The ride often begins as a chain and motor which exerts a force on the train of cars to lift the train to the top of a vary tall hill. Once the cars are lifted to the top of the hill, gravity takes over and the remainder of the ride is an experience in energy transformation. At the top of the hill, the cars possess a large amount of potential energy. Potential energy is dependent upon the mass of the object and the height of the object. As the cars descend the first drop they lose much of this potential energy in accord with their loss of height. The cars subsequently gain kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is dependent upon the mass of the object and the speed of the object. Therefore, their original potential energy is transformed into kinetic energy. Backward-Looking:  How much did you know about the subject before we
Read more

Wave Communication - 3/25/18

Image
Summary : There are two types of signals, analog and digital. An analog signal changes in frequency and amplitude all the time in a way that matches the changes in the voice or music being transmitted. A digital signal has just two values, which we represent as 0 and 1. An analog signal varies in frequency and amplitude. A digital signal has two values, 0 and 1 (or ‘on’ and ‘off’). The signal is converted into a code using only the values 0 and 1. The signal becomes a stream of 0 and 1 values. These pulses are added to the electromagnetic wave and transmitted. The signal is received and then decoded to recover the original signal. Both analogue and digital signals can pick up unwanted signals that distort the original signal. Digital signals can be cleaned up in a process known as regeneration because each pulse must be a 0 or a 1, so other values can be removed. Analogue signals can be amplified, but the noise is amplified too. This is why digital signals give a
Read more