EVOLUTION WEBQUEST

A WebQuest for 9th Grade Biology

Introduction

How has life on earth evolved? What is the evidence for this evolution? Who was Charles Darwin and how did his Theory on the Origin of Species change modern biology? What examples from the Galapagos Islands helped Darwin to formulate his Theory? How does the evolutionary process work? Is life on earth evolving today? How can the evolutionary history of an organism be shown on a phylogenetic tree? How might humans evolve in the future?

In this webquest, you will be exploring these questions to gain a greater understanding of evolution past, present and future. You will use what you have already learned about genetics, cells, and biodiversity to understand the biology behind evolution.

When you have finished this webquest, you will understand how "evolution is the result of genetic changes that occur in constantly changing environments" (CA State Biological Science Standards, #8). You will be demonstrating your comprehension of evolutionary processes by creating an evolutionary project and presenting it to your class.

The Process

1. The first step is to learn about evolution. To do this, you will be exploring different forms of evidence of evolution, the main components of Darwins Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, and modern phylogenetic trees through online tutorials. As you learn about evolution, record what you have learned in your notebook using questions in your Evolution Webquest Worksheet. Once you have finished all of the tutorials, go on to the activity in step 2.

Darwin Tutorial

Evidence of Evolution Tutorial

Classification and Phylogenetic Tree Tutorial

2. To further explore how natural selection works, go do this Online Evolution Activity.

3. Now that you understand how evolution works, pick your project and begin researching for the project you have decided to do. Go to the Resources section and click on your project to get more information for that option.

Resources for the Project

Now that you have learned about the basics of evolution, you are ready to demonstrate your understanding. Pick one of the options below to be your project. You might want to browse the instructions in each link before you make your choice. Make sure to refer to the Evaluation section of this webquest so you know what is expected of your project as you work on it.

1. Design a fictitious organism and tell its evolutionary story.

2. Pick an organism of your choice, research its evolutionary history, and present it in a phylogenetic tree with captions.

3. With a partner, present a mock debate between an evolutionist and a advocate of intelligent design that gives the evidence supporting each side.

4. Write an evolutionary explanation of how one of the following evolutionary breakthroughs came to be: flight, bioluminescence, the human brain, or vision. You may also choose another adaptation not on this list but it must be approved by your teacher.

Evaluation

Evolution Project Rubric

Conclusion

Now that you have finished this webquest, you should understand how evolution has changed our understanding of biology and ourselves.

Teacher Page

Evolution Labs to use in your classroom exploring these topics:

Fossil dating lab
Relative dating lab
Island Biogeography and Evolution Lab

Other online resources:

geological time machine
evolution basics slideshow

Evolution

8. Evolution is the result of genetic changes that occur in constantly changing environments. As a basis for understanding this concept:

a. Students know how natural selection determines the differential survival of groups of organisms.

b. Students know a great diversity of species increases the chance that at least some organisms survive major changes in the environment.

c. Students know the effects of genetic drift on the diversity of organisms in a population.

d. Students know reproductive or geographic isolation affects speciation.

e. Students know how to analyze fossil evidence with regard to biological diversity, episodic speciation, and mass extinction.

f.* Students know how to use comparative embryology, DNA or protein sequence comparisons, and other independent sources of data to create a branching diagram (cladogram) that shows probable evolutionary.

g.* Students know how several independent molecular clocks, calibrated against each other and combined with evidence from the fossil record, can help to estimate how long ago various groups of organisms diverged evolutionarily from one another.

Last updated on August 15, 1999. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page