Origin of ideas about origins

Question 1

the age of a fossil

Answer 1

the age of the fossil is estimated by measuring the original radioactive isotope present in a rock and the non-radioactive form

Question 2

modification by descent

Answer 2

the fact that genes are passed on from one generation to the next and that genes are constantly changing

Question 3

biogeography

Answer 3

the fact that organisms look so different in different parts of the world

Question 4

genetics

Answer 4

organisms owe the characteristics they have to their proteins and this is determined by the sequence of nucleotides in their dna and mrna. evidence that all life is related comes from the fact that all organisms have a genetic code that is almost identical.

Question 5

lamarckism

Answer 5

according to lamarck, a changing environment causes an organism to change its behaiviour, thereby using some body parts more and others less. over several generations, a given body part would increase in size if it was used a lot, or shrink if it was used less

Question 6

punctuated equilibrium

Answer 6

punctuated equilibrium is a theory of evolution that states that most species will show very little evolutionary change for most of their geological history, remaining in a state of stasis