Geologic History: A History of Life on Earth

graded discussion Discussion: The Theory of Evolution 20 Points

For this assignment, you will need to conduct some research on evidence and data that support the theory of biological evolution. As you have learned in this section, the theory of biological evolution states that species change over time as their environments change and as genetic variations make some traits more successful than others.

For example, you may come across information during your research about homology. Homology is a similarity of structural features between organisms, even though the structures may serve different purposes for each organism. It is evidence for evolution because there is no overriding mechanical or biological reason for them to be so similar structurally; therefore, they likely developed from a common ancestor. One example is the similarity between the human arm, cat forelimb, whale front flipper, and bat wing.

After conducting your research, select one argument that is used to support the theory of evolution and create a discussion board entry to explain the argument and to describe whether or not you think the argument is valid and why or why not you think so.

Please post your response to the Discussion: The Theory of Evolution link and respond thoughtfully to the posts of other students. For information on how this assignment will be graded, please view the Discussion Rubric.