Year 10 - Science
The fossil record provides evidence for 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 describe how the fossil record provides evidence that the features of species change (evolve) over time.
Key Notes
- The fossil record is made up of millions of fossils aged from 10,000 to billions of years old.
- Fossils show that some species have gone extinct.
- Fossils show that the features of some species have changed (evolved) over time.
- An example of a series of fossils showing changes from evolutionary ancestors to modern species (e.g. whales).
Vocabulary To Learn
- fossil: Fossils are the mineralised remains of once-living organisms, or of traces left behind by organisms.
- fossil record: All the fossils ever found, and their ages, provide a body of evidence called the fossil record.
- extinct: An extinct species has no living members.
- evolution: The process in which the characteristics of species change over many generations, sometimes becoming new species.
Common Mistakes To Avoid
- Students often struggle to remember that any organism (not just animals) can become a fossil
3 Quick Questions (With Answers)
1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.
The fossil record is made up of millions of fossils aged from 10,000 to billions of years old. Fossils show that some species have gone extinct.
2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'fossil'
Fossils are the mineralised remains of once-living organisms, or of traces left behind by organisms. Include the word in a full scientific explanation, not as a single label.
3. Correct this common scientific misunderstanding.
Mistake: Students often struggle to remember that any organism (not just animals) can become a fossil. Correction: This is addressed in the lesson by including examples of fossilised plant and cell material. The first practice task also addresses this misconception.
More Lessons In This Unit
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