Understanding Evolution

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Eye Evolution

Grade Level(s):

  • 13-16

Source:

  • UC Museum of Paleontology

Resource type:

  • Online activity or lab

Time: 45-60 minutes

Overview

This worksheet guides students through an interactive online module entitled Why the Eye? on the Understanding Evolution website. Students gain a better understanding of the different types of animal eyes and how natural selection can account for the evolution of a complex organ.

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  • [Evidence of evolution: Grades 13-16] Features sometimes acquire new functions through natural selection.
  • [Evidence of evolution: Grades 13-16] An organism's features reflect its evolutionary history.
  • [Evidence of evolution: Grades 13-16] There is a fit between organisms and their environments, though not always a perfect fit.
  • [Evidence of evolution: Grades 13-16] There is a fit between the form of a trait and its function, though not always a perfect fit.
  • [Evidence of evolution: Grades 13-16] Some traits of organisms are not adaptive.
  • [Evidence of evolution: Grades 13-16] Similarities among existing organisms (including morphological, developmental, and molecular similarities) reflect common ancestry and provide evidence for evolution.
  • [Evidence of evolution: Grades 13-16] Not all similar traits are homologous; some are the result of convergent evolution.
  • [Mechanisms of evolution: Grades 13-16] Inherited characteristics affect the likelihood of an organism's survival and reproduction.
  • [Mechanisms of evolution: Grades 13-16] Over time, the proportion of individuals with advantageous traits may increase (and the proportion with disadvantageous traits may decrease) due to their chances of surviving and reproducing.
  • [Mechanisms of evolution: Grades 13-16] Traits that confer an advantage may persist in the population and are called adaptations.
  • [Mechanisms of evolution: Grades 13-16] Complex traits can arise through the cooption of another trait.
  • [Studying evolution: Grades 13-16] Evolutionary trees (i.e., phylogenies or cladograms) portray hypotheses about evolutionary relationships.
  • [Studying evolution: Grades 13-16] Evolutionary trees (i.e., phylogenies or cladograms) are built from multiple lines of evidence.
  • [Studying evolution: Grades 13-16] Evolutionary trees can be used to make inferences and predictions.

There are no NGSS/DCI concepts currently linked to this resource.

Use this resource to relate evolutionary concepts to the topic of animal sensory and motor mechanisms (or get more suggestions for incorporating evolution throughout your biology syllabus). This online activity includes animations and interactive portions.