Evolution and Science Objectives

Define science as a way of knowing and contrast it with other ways of knowing.

Proposed statements of truth are testable with objective measures, such that the statement could be unambiguously proven false.

Be able to identify statements as scientific or unscientific.

Define “scientific fact” and describe how these are developed.

Can test and discard incorrect ideas about how something works and approach a reasonable understanding of how it works. That understanding is always somewhat provisional, but in practice, the evidence is overwhelming for some hypotheses.

Define scientific theory.

Describe and identify examples of scientific theories.

Summarize the theory of evolution.

Pattern: Living organisms can be arranged in a hierarchy of similarity in structure and function. Organisms that live near each other in space tend to be more similar than organisms that live far apart. Fossils of extinct organisms exist and show a pattern of increasing similarity to modern organisms over time.

Process: All organisms today descended from a common ancestor that arose nearly 4 billion years ago. The differences among organisms arose as a result of genetic changes brought about by mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift.