Darwin's 6 main points

Question 1

overproduction

Answer 1

1. more offspring are produced than needed to maintain the population.
2. environment can not support all born.
3. species populations remain more or less constant “stable” because only a fraction of offspring eventually reproduce.

(think nemo)

Question 2

struggle for existence (competition)

Answer 2

living space and food resources are limited

offspring compete with each other for the necessities of life.

Question 3

variation

Answer 3

characteristics not exactly alike
differ in size, shape of body part, speed, resistance to diseases, etc.
some are passed to the next generation.
(athletes for different sports)

Question 4

survival of the fittest (natural selection)

Answer 4

nature/environment for living organisms with better suited inherited traits will survive and reproduce.

others will die off without leaving offspring.

offspring then inherits these better traits and as a whole the population improves for that particular environment.

Question 5

origin of new species (speciation)

Answer 5

over many generations, new species arise by the collection of favourable inherited variations

these changes produces species that are significantly different from the original.

Question 6

adaptation

Answer 6

an inherited trait or set of traits that improve the chances of survival and reproduction of organisms in a given environment.

all organisms are adapted to make them well suited to survive in a particular environment.