Year 10 - Science
Climate change and evolution
Fossil evidence, selective breeding and explaining evolution
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This pupil-friendly study guide includes a unit summary, clear notes, common mistakes, and quick questions with answers.
Unit Summary
This unit explores evidence for evolution, including fossils and antibiotic resistance. It covers selective breeding, Darwin and Wallace's contributions to natural selection, and evolution as changes in inherited traits over time. It also examines how scientific theories evolve over time.
Lesson Summary
You will learn to explain how climate change could affect the evolution of species and lead to extinctions, and some actions we can take to help prevent the loss of species.
Key Notes
- Variation within a species may affect how well different individuals can survive when environmental conditions change
- This leads to natural selection, favouring individuals better adapted to survive and reproduce in the new conditions
- Climate change could result in natural selection of individuals that are more tolerant of drought and high temperatures
- Some species may not evolve quickly enough to keep up with climate change and could become extinct
- Humans can use various methods to help protect against species loss due to climate change, e.g. selective breeding
Vocabulary To Learn
- variation: Differences between members of the same species.
- natural selection: Organisms that are better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive, reproduce and pass on their genes to their offspring.
- climate change: Climate change is a long-term shift in weather patterns.
- extinction: Extinction is the permanent loss of a species
- selective breeding: The process in which humans choose individuals with desirable traits and mate them in order to make offspring with these desirable traits.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- All species will be able to evolve to cope with climate change.
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.
Variation within a species may affect how well different individuals can survive when environmental conditions change. This leads to natural selection, favouring individuals better adapted to survive and reproduce in the new conditions.
2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'variation'
Differences between members of the same species. Include the word in a full scientific explanation, not as a single label.
3. Correct this common scientific misunderstanding.
Mistake: All species will be able to evolve to cope with climate change. Correction: The lesson explores why not all species will be able to evolve fast enough to adapt to the pace of climate change.
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