Big Idea 1: Evolution

1. Big Idea 1: Evolution

2. Essential Questions • What role does evolution play in the organization of living things? • What evidence supports our current models of the origin of life? • How does the process of evolution drive diversity and the unity of life? • How does life evolve in changing environments?

3. Learning Objectives • Convert a data set from a table of numbers that reflect a change in the genetic makeup of a population over time and apply mathematical methods and conceptual understandings to investigate the causes and effects of this change • Evaluate evidence provided by data to qualitatively and quantitatively investigate the role of natural selection in evolution • Analyze data to support the claim that responses to information and communication of information affect natural selection • Apply mathematical methods to data from a real or simulated population to predict what will happen to the population in the future

4. Learning Objectives • Evaluate data-based evidence that describes evolutionary changes in the genetic makeup of a population over time • Evaluate evidence provided by data from many scientific disciplines that support biological evolution • Refine evidence based on data from many scientific disciplines that support biological evolution • Design a plan to answer scientific questions regarding how organisms have changed over time using information from morphology, biochemistry, and geology • Evaluate given data sets that illustrate evolution as an ongoing process

5. Learning Objectives • Connect scientific evidence from many scientific disciplines to support the modern concept of evolution • Construct and/or justify mathematical models, diagrams, or simulations that represent processes of biological evolution • Pose scientific questions about a group of organisms whose relatedness is described by a phylogenic tree in order to (1) identify shared characteristics, (2) make inferences about evolutionary history of the group, and (3) identify character data that could extend or improve the phylogenic tree

6. Learning Objectives • Construct explanations based on scientific evidence that homeostatic mechanisms reflect continuity due to common ancestry and/or divergence due to adaptation in different environments • Analyze data related to questions of speciation and extinction throughout Earth’s history • Justify the selection of data that addresses questions related to reproductive isolation and speciation • Describe speciation in an isolated population and connect it to a change in gene frequency, change in environment, natural selection, and/or genetic drift • Describe a model that represents evolution within a population

7. Day 1 • Watch the video “What Darwin Never Knew” • Write down questions/interesting points you have as you watch

8. Day 2 (60 minutes) • Required readings: • Chapter 22, 23 • Bozeman videos: • There are 19 videos in the “Evolution” tab on www.bozemanscience.com that you should watch throughout this unit

9. Activity 1 • Finish watching “What Darwin Never Knew”

10. Activity 2 • Use the website http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/evo_01 (you can Google “Welcome to evolution 101”) to create a word map that organizes and connects evolutionary terms and concepts • Words to include (but are not limited to): adaptation, environment, natural selection, genetic variation, speciation, mutation, species, population • This will be useful to come back to throughout the unit • Time: 30 minutes

11. Day 3 • Natural Selection • Artificial Selection

12. Activity 1 – Natural Selection • Work with a partner to complete the allele frequency lab • Complete the table on the handout • Complete the discussion questions on the back of the handout • Create another scenario with a different animal that has 2 different variations for a trait. What conditions would favour one trait over another? • Time: 45 minutes

13. Activity 2 – Artificial Selection • Describe the features or abilities of dogs for which humans might breed • Look at the “dog breeding example” – what traits match the example given? What other traits are important to consider? What traits are not important to consider? • You will be artificially selecting a new dog with certain traits by crossing 2 already existing dogs • Fill in the “ownership card” and “puppy traits” sheet • Each breeding pair will produce 3 puppies, and traits can be inherited from either the mother of father (use a coin to determine which traits are inherited) • Discuss the variation observed in the puppies • Display your findings in a picture

14. Day 4 • Required Readings: • Investigation #2 • Chapter 23 • Bozeman: • Investigation #2 • Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium

15. Activity 1 • Work through the sample model on excel • Create your own investigation: • What trait are you going to look at? • How many generations will you complete? • What allele frequencies will you use? • Complete a CERR write up for this investigation

16. CERR Write Up for Investigation #2 • Claim – What is Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and the principles behind it? • What are some facts behind the trait that you have decided to investigate? What is the % of it occurring in the real world? • Evidence – Calculations, graph, tables from your investigation • Reasoning – Why are you seeing what you do in your results? • How do the allele frequencies change over generations? • Why might this be? • Why do recessive traits stay in a population? • Relate back to Hardy-Weinberg • Rebuttal – Why don’t recessive traits disappear completely? • Why did a trait that had a low allele frequency not become a high frequency in the population? • Relate back to Hardy-Weinberg

17. Day 5 • Required Readings: • Chapter 22

18. Activity 1 • Read the excerpt of the article “Evolution of the Eye” • http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=evolution-of-the-eye • Support or refute the idea that the eye has changed due to natural selection • Provide 3 ideas to support your opinion • Provide an example of an animal that has changed over time by the process of natural selection • How has it changed specifically? • Propose a plan with scientific questions to test the theory of natural selection • Due – January 25 • Time: 30 minutes

19. Activity 2 – Library • Use Berkley’s Understanding Evolution (Google “Evolution 101, we have used this site before) to explore the patterns in the diversity of life across the planet Earth • Connect evidence to help explain why organisms change over time • Interpret/analyze/manipulate the data presented to infer how evolution has affected different species • Time: 20 minutes

20. Activity 3 - Library • Read the following articles: • http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/07/060714-evolution.html • http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1931757,00.html • Write an essay that explains how modern concepts of evolution are supported through natural selection • Due: January 25

21. Day 6 (60 min) • Required readings: • http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/a/antibiotic_resistance.htm • http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v2/n3/antibiotic-resistance-of-bacteria

22. Activity 1 • After reading the articles on the evolution of drug-resistant bacteria, explain the following: • How does the misuse of antibiotics affect the evolution of disease-causing bacteria? • Why should we care about a resistant strain of bacteria? • What are 5 common diseases caused by bacteria, and what would it mean if they became resistant to the antibiotic that treated it? • Time: 30 minutes

23. Activity 2 • Quiz • When you finish, you can work on either of the 2 assignments due on Friday

24. Day 11 (60 min)