5.4

Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet Chevalier de Lamarck believed that living things arose from non-living matter called spontaneous generation and then slowly became more complex. He believed as an organism adapted to its environment as it had a force to change to certain ways that led them to produce new parts to satisfy their needs in the environment.

Lamarkism is the idea that an organism can pass on its characteristics that it acquired during its lifetime to its offspring. We now know that acquired traits cannot be inherited but Lamarck noticed that an environment impact can have a change on the evolution of the species.

Charles Darwin set sale around the world. He gathered evidence that he would later draw from:

 

- In south American, Darwin observed unusual fossil species that resembled sloths and armadillos living in the same region

-Species living in South America tropics did not resemble those living in the African tropics. 

-The harsh landscape of the Galapagos Islands was home to 13 very similar species of Finches

-Fossil deposits of corals at an elevation of 3000 m in the Andes Mountains

 

Darwin continued to gather evidence and performing experiments. As he believed that the result of differential reproductive success of individuals caused by variations in their inherited characteristics.   Darwin believed that all species produce far more offspring than are able to survive, Since so many are born there must be a competition among them for survival.

Natural selection proposed by Charles Darwin is the belief that the stronger and faster are able to survive in the environment. The process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. The survial of the fittest
Eg. Cheetahs rely on their speed to help them catch their prey