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In lecture three of a four part series, evolutionary biologist David Kingsley examines the original objections to Darwin's theory and shows how modern evidence supports the theory.
This lecture is available from Howard Hughes' BioInteractive website.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Though originally developed for high school students, this lecture will also be useful for college students.
Correspondence to the Next Generation Science Standards is indicated in parentheses after each relevant concept. See our conceptual framework for details.
- Present-day species evolved from earlier species; the relatedness of organisms is the result of common ancestry.
- Life on Earth 3.8 billion years ago consisted of one-celled organisms similar to present-day bacteria.
- The fossil record provides evidence for evolution.
- There are similarities and differences among fossils and living organisms.
- Similarities among existing organisms (including morphological, developmental, and molecular similarities) reflect common ancestry and provide evidence for evolution.
- The fossil record documents the biodiversity of the past.
- The fossil record contains organisms with transitional features.
- Our knowledge of the evolution of living things is always being refined as we gather more evidence.
- Our understanding of life through time is based upon multiple lines of evidence.
- Scientists use multiple lines of evidence (including morphological, developmental, and molecular evidence) to infer the relatedness of taxa.
- Scientists use fossils (including sequences of fossils showing gradual change over time) to learn about past life.