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Lesson summary for:
Investigating Common Descent: Formulating Explanations and Models

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Overview:
Students formulate explanations and models that simulate structural and biochemical data as they investigate the misconception that humans evolved from apes.

Author/Source:
National Academy of Sciences

Grade level:
9-12

Time:
Two class periods.

Concepts:

  • Present-day species evolved from earlier species; the relatedness of organisms is the result of common ancestry.

  • Similarities among existing organisms provide evidence for evolution.

  • Anatomical similarities of living things reflect common ancestry.

  • All life forms use the same basic DNA building blocks.

  • A hallmark of science is exposing ideas to testing.

  • Our understanding of life through time is based upon multiple lines of evidence.

  • Scientists use the similarity of DNA nucleotide sequences to infer the relatedness of taxa.

  • Scientists use anatomical evidence to infer the relatedness of taxa.

  • Scientists may explore many different hypotheses to explain their observations.

Teacher background:

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