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Y6 EVOLUTION AND INHERITANCE

LESSON 3:Charles Darwin and the voyage of The Beagle

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TODAY YOU WILL LEARN

•Who Charles Darwin was and what he did

•About his famous voyage on board The Beagle

•What his “Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection” is and why it is so important


WHO WASCHARLES DARWIN?

• Born on February 12th 1809

• Started as a priest but didn’t enjoy it• 1831: Became a naturalist and travelled

around the world on a ship called the Beagle

• 1859: Published his ‘Theory of Evolution’ in a book called ‘On the Origin of Species’

WHY IS HE SO IMPORTANT?

For many hundreds of years, scientists had tried to come up with a way to explain why there were such a variety of different living things on Earth. Over a period of many years, Charles Darwin came up with an idea called his ‘”Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection” which attempted to explain it all.

HOW DID HE COME UP WITH THE IDEA?

Darwin had long believed that all life forms had to have changed throughout the history of life on Earth, though he wasn’t sure how this had happened. In 1831 he was able to research this by travelling around the world on a ship called The Beagle, which gave him enough evidence to finally come up with his full Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection.

THE FIVE YEAR VOYAGE OF THE BEAGLE

1) 27th December 1831: The ship sets sail from Plymouth in England


2) CANARY ISLANDS: The ship is unable to stop

because of a Cholera outbreak in England. Darwin is sad that he can’t land and see the

islands.

“This was a great disappointment to Mr. Darwin, who had cherished a hope of visiting the Peak of Tenerife”

Captain Fitzroy


3) CAPE VERDI: Darwin makes his first important discovery when he sees fossil sea shells halfway

up a cliff face.


4) BRAZIL: Darwin spends a lot more time ashore,

exploring the rainforests and collecting many important

specimens of animals, insects and plants. He also argues

with the Captain!

"When out of temper Captain Fitzroy was utterly unreasonable. For instance, early in the voyage at Bahia

in Brazil he defended and praised slavery, which I abominated!” Charles Darwin


5) ARGENTINA: Darwin collects a wide range of

fossils from Patagonia and the Falkland islands and the

ship is shouted at by the people of Tierra Del Fuego.


"These poor wretches were stunted in their growth, their hideous faces bedaubed with white paint, their

skins filthy and greasy, their hair entangled, their voices discordant, their gestures violent and without

dignity.” Charles Darwin

6) SOUTH AMERICA: Darwin finds large animal fossils which would have needed a lot more

vegetation to live than the current landscape. This makes him realise that the land must

have changed over time.


Giant Ground Sloth


7) GALAPAGOS ISLANDS: Darwin makes his most important

discoveries because of the isolated nature of the islands, including his

famous finch discoveries which eventually confirm his famous

“Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection.”


8) THE VOYAGE HOME: Darwin continues to collect many samples and make many observations, which become one of the most important natural history

collections of all time and eventually lead to his book “On the Origin of Species’.

WHAT DARWIN LEARNED – HIS ‘THEORY OF EVOLUTION’

•That differences in the offspring of living things (called VARIATION) create different characteristics that give them a better or worse chance of survival in different conditions, called NATURAL SELECTION.

WHAT DARWIN LEARNED – HIS ‘THEORY OF EVOLUTION’

•This slow process over millions of years results in living things changing to adapt to their environments, leading to completely new species, which he called the THEORY OF EVOLUTION.

LEARNING CHECK:

Tell the person next to you ..

•Who Charles Darwin was•Why his voyage on the Beagle was so important



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