Evolution

Evolution

The American Association for the Advancement of Science says that By the end of eighth grade students should know:

• Small differences between parents and offspring can accumulate (through selective breeding) in successive generations so that descendants are very different from their ancestors. 5F/M1
• Individual organisms with certain traits are more likely than others to survive and have offspring. 5F/M2a
• Changes in environmental conditions can affect the survival of individual organisms and entire species. 5F/M2b
• Many thousands of layers of sedimentary rock provide evidence for the long history of the earth and for the long history of changing life forms whose remains are found in the rocks. 5F/M3a
• More recently deposited rock layers are more likely to contain fossils resembling existing species. 5F/M3b
• Most species that have lived on the earth are now extinct. Extinction of species occurs when the environment changes and the individual organisms of that species do not have the traits necessary to survive and reproduce in the changed environment. 5F/M4** (NSES)
• Reproduction is necessary for the survival of any species. 5F/M5*

Wyoming State Science Standards:

Evolution as a Theory: Students explain evolution as a theory and apply the theory to the diversity of species, which results from natural selection and the acquisition of unique characteristics through biological adaptation.