week 3 assignment

Week 3 Analogy/ Homology Assignment 

1. A) Humans and whales have a similar homologous bone structure in the arm. Whales and humans have a humorous, radius, ulna, carpals, metacarpals, and phalanges these bones make up our arms as well as a whale's flippers.  

            B)The homologous trait is the bone structure of both organisms in the arms. The arms of humans are very different from whales because we evolved from an ancestor who lived in trees and needed longer forearms to help them climb while whales have the same bones but their structure is shorter in terms of the forearm and suited for only water where they use their flippers to help them maneuver through the water. These homologous traits exert differences because they live in two polar opposite environments. Humans live on land so we rely more heavily on our arms to pick things up while whales live only in the water so they need to use their flippers to help them maneuver their big bodies through the water. 

C) Since humans and whales are considered mammals I think that the common ancestor has to be an animal that spent most of its time on land. The ancestor would have to be a land animal because it was firstly a mammal and plus only mammals have the same bone structures. 

D) 

         

2. A) I think two species who are totally different but are characterized close has to be the platypus and the duck. Both species have bills and lay eggs but the difference is that the platypus is a mammal and the duck is a bird. 

B) The analogous traits of both species are the bill, the webbed feet, and the ability to lay eggs. The platypus and duck both have webbed feet in order to help them swim. They also both have bills but the platypus uses its bill as like an extension of an electric field in order to catch prey. They both also lay eggs which is uncommon for a mammal. Even though these species are similar they are two totally different species. 

C) I think that the platypus has a common relative to the duck . In my opinion, I believe that there was a divergence between a mammal and a bird in order to have an organism who is able to lay eggs and yet still be considered a mammal. 

D) 

DNA

T A C C A A G T T A G C G T C T G A A C A T T G T C T A A A T G C A T C

Darwin's Influence

1There are many people who have influenced Charles Darwin in his quest to find the answer to evolution and how natural selection plays a big role within this theory. The most influential in Darwin's theory of Natural Selection would have to be Thomas Malthus.

2. Thomas Malthus was an  English economist who believed that the increasing population of the human race would outpace our food supplies which in turn would lead to a struggle for survival and those best suited for this change will survive. Malthus provided the scientific community with An Essay on the Principle of Population, which provided the platform for Darwin to expand on the idea of the struggle for existence to all organisms.  Darwin incorporated this idea into his theory of Natural Selection. Darwin was able to relate how the environment was a set stage in order to enable competition for survival.    

3.The points that have influenced Darwin are that resources are limited and organisms with better access to resources will be more successful in their reproductive efforts. I picked these two because the limited resources allow for competition within a given area so that the best suited can survive as well as pass on their adaptions to their offspring. Darwin recognized that many species produced more offspring than can survive which he thought of as a "biological gamble."  The offspring that haven’t been passed down with the advantage are then unsuitable for reproducing and surviving.   

4.I think if Darwin wasn’t influenced by Thomas Malthus then he wouldn’t have been able to create the theory of Natural Selection. An Essay on the Principle of Population provided Darwin with the platform of survival of the fittest. Darwin thought that favored variations of a gene that proved to be an advantage in their environment would be passed on to the next generation to provide a better likelihood of survival. The species that are able to survive would pass on these genes onto their offspring and create new species along the way.   

5.The church was basing their ideas of evolution strictly through the Bible and going against this would create a threat against the church. Darwin was afraid that he would be going against the status quo and challenging the notion that God created every species which was widely accepted back then.  

Links  

1.http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?disableHighlighting=false&displayGroupName=Reference&currPage=&scanId=&query=&source=&prodId=BIC1&search_within_results=&p=BIC1&mode=view&catId=&u=vale41196&limiter=&display-query=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE%7CCV2643450539&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType=&commentary= 

2.http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/BiographiesDetailsPage/BiographiesDetailsWindow?disableHighlighting=false&displayGroupName=Biographies&currPage=&scanId=&query=&source=&prodId=BIC1&search_within_results=&p=BIC1&mode=view&catId=&u=vale41196&limiter=&display-query=&displayGroups=&contentModules=&action=e&sortBy=&documentId=GALE%7CK2431100237&windowstate=normal&activityType=&failOverType=&commentary= 

If I was stranded on a desert island the two items I would bring are flint so that I can easily start a fire by striking it against a rock and a sleeping bag in order to keep me insulated during the night.