Unit 8 Reflection

In unit 8, we covered evolution by looking at the history of our Earth and how we came to be. Evolution is caused by genetic variation in populations, which is caused by reproduction, meiosis, and crossing over. Natural selection favors certain phenotypes and causes individuals with advantages for survival to reproduce. Natural selection can favor one phenotype, which is directional selection. In stabilized selection, nature favors the intermediate phenotype and in disruptive selection, both extremes are favored. Disruptive selection can lead to speciation, which creates a new species. Humans took advantage of this aspect of life to artificially select and breed animals using the same mindset of weeding out the weak from the population. Darwin made a conclusion based on natural selection that as the population evolves, it will start to look more like the organisms with the advantages. This was tested in class when we did the Hunger Games Lab and the Bird Beak Lab. Showcased in the lab and in nature, we can tell if a population evolved based on the allele frequency fluctuations. Allele frequency measures how common an allele is within a population. Evolution is evident in the world and will continue to affect our lives of a span of time. Scientists use evolutionary left-overs and fossils to determine who are ancestors were and to dive into more about Earth's history. As a final wrap-up to our unit, we concluded with a project; a timeline to showcase all of Earth's existence. I wrote a reflection on this project, which you can read here. I really enjoyed this unit because it was a good change from what we have been doing for most of this year. It was interesting to zoom out in perspective and understand the world we live in as a whole. Since I had more interest in the content of this unit, it was easy to be assertive with my learning because I cared more about the topic. In the future I should challenge myself to learn like this for every unit. Here is a picture showcasing the different variations of natural selection: