Lesson 4: DNA EVIDENCE
Duration of Days: 2
Lesson Objective
LP 1.4
- I can analyze patterns in DNA data to make a claim about the relationship between species.
Why/ How is there 8.7 million species here on Earth?
How do we know what species came before now and what happened to them?
What is the origin of life? How do we know?
What is a species? What factors lead to the creation of a species?
How/ why do species go extinct?
HS-LS4-1 Biological Evolution: Unity and Diversity
Communicate scientific information that common ancestry and biological evolution are supported by multiple lines of empirical evidence.
A connection to SAT skills can be made through critical analysis and comparison of scientific evidence, which aligns with the skills assessed in the SAT Reading and Writing sections. Understanding how genetic information, fossil records, and anatomical evidence contribute to the theory of evolution requires students to evaluate and compare various types of data, make inferences, and identify key relationships. These tasks are similar to those required in the SAT, where students must analyze passages, compare differing viewpoints, and draw conclusions based on evidence. The process of interpreting genetic evidence and adaptation patterns also involves logical reasoning, a skill central to SAT problem-solving.
LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity
Genetic information, like the fossil record, provides evidence of evolution. DNA sequences vary among species, but there are many overlaps; in fact, the ongoing branching that produces multiple lines of descent can be inferred by comparing the DNA sequences of different organisms. Such information is also derivable from the similarities and differences in amino acid sequences and from anatomical and embryological evidence.
LS4.C: Adaptation
Changes in the physical environment, whether naturally occurring or human induced, have thus contributed to the expansion of some species, the emergence of new distinct species as populations diverge under different conditions, and the decline — and sometimes the extinction — of some species.
Species become extinct because they can no longer survive and reproduce in their altered environment. If members cannot adjust to change that is too fast or drastic, the opportunity for the species’ evolution is lost.
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