Darwin

1. The finches that Darwin brought back from his Galapagos trip were a new species of finch that had never been seen before. He believed that they must have been blown to the Galapagos, changed into different varieties, then eventually into different species. The birds were forced to adapt to the Galapagos Islands and made small changes and adaptations over time. They had a variety of beaks but had all descended from one type of finch.

2. Darwin’s “tree of life” explained that each new species found springs from the same tree. Different species branch off of this tree, some die off and some keep branching off into different species. The trunk is one common ancestor for all living things. He believes that all forms of life on earth have come from this “tree of life”. It shows that all living things are related.

3.

4. The praying mantis was modified because it was perfectly disguised as a leaf. Its thorax was completely flattened to look like a flat leaf. Evolution explains these modifications because the mantis’ appearance had adapted over time. The mantis was now able to hide among leaves and avoid being eaten.

5. Like all living things, the video showed up that the HIV virus also evolves over time. Doctors now know that the virus has evolved over time and is now resistant to some HIV medicine. When HIV viruses multiply, they will begin to produce some drug resistant forms of the virus. Through natural selection, the drug resistant HIV replications will live on. The virus has thus evolved to reject the medicine.

6. Eyes are not perfectly designed because they are prone to retinal tears. The two layers at the back of the eye are not attached, and jelly can leak into the eye and cause blindness if a retinal tear takes place. Also, there is a small blind spot in the middle of the