Library Guides: Evolution: Overview

Don't forget to cite and reference your sources. For help see the Junior School or Senior School referencing guides, and / or CiteMaker.

Resource Key

When accessing content use the numbers below to guide you:

LEVEL

Brief, basic information laid out in an easy-to-read format. May use informal language. (Includes most news articles)

LEVEL

Provides additional background information and further reading. Introduces some subject-specific language.

LEVEL

Lengthy, detailed information. Frequently uses technical/subject-specific language. (Includes most analytical articles)

General Capabilities

Enduring Understandings

The nature of an object or organisms affects its function
Patterns allow the identification and description of relationships, including cause and effect
Stability is the result of competing but balanced forces

Quick Links

Evolution | Overview: Keywords

Click on the terms to access a simple definition from either the Oxford Dictionary online or ThoughtCo. The definitions for words and phrases marked with a hash # come from alternative sources.

Environment, Evolution, Darwinism, Genes, Germinal mutation, Lamarckism, Mutation, Natural selection, Selective breeding, Somatic mutation, Species, Variation

Evolution | Overview: Articles

Evolution (Britannica High, n.d.)
"Evolution, theory in biology postulating that the various types of plants, animals, and other living things on Earth have their origin in other preexisting types and that the distinguishable differences are due to modifications in successive generations. The theory of evolution is one of the fundamental keystones of modern biological theory." ("Evolution", n.d.)
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Reference / citation: "Evolution", (n.d.) or ("Evolution", n.d.)
Reference list / Bibliography: Evolution. (n.d.). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://bt-libproxy.mentonegirls.vic.edu.au/levels/high/article/evolution/106075
Environment (Britannica High, n.d.)
"environment, the complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival." ("Environment", n.d.)
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Reference / citation: "Environment", (n.d.) or ("Environment", n.d.)
Reference list / Bibliography: Environment. (n.d.). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://bt-libproxy.mentonegirls.vic.edu.au/levels/high/article/environment/32733
Natural selection (Britannica High, n.d.)
"Natural selection, process that results in the adaptation of an organism to its environment by means of selectively reproducing changes in its genotype, or genetic constitution." ("Natural selection", n.d.)
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Reference / citation: "Natural selection", (n.d.) or ("Natural selection", n.d.)
Reference list / Bibliography: Natural selection. (n.d.). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://bt-libproxy.mentonegirls.vic.edu.au/levels/high/article/natural-selection/55046
What Is Evolution? (ThoughtCo, 2014, July 14)
"A Brief Overview of the History and Concepts of Evolution. The theory of evolution is a scientific theory that essentially states that species change over time. There are many different ways species change, but most of them can be described by the idea of natural selection." (Scoville, 2014)
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Reference / citation: Scoville, (2014, July 14) or (Scoville, 2014, July 14)
Reference list / Bibliography: Scoville, Heather. (2019, July 14). What Is Evolution? Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-evolution-1224603

Charles Darwin (Britannica High, n.d.)
"English naturalist whose scientific theory of evolution by natural selection became the foundation of modern evolutionary studies." ("Charles Darwin", n.d.)
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Reference / citation: "Charles Darwin", (n.d.) or ("Charles Darwin", n.d.)
Reference list / Bibliography: Charles Darwin. (n.d.). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://bt-libproxy.mentonegirls.vic.edu.au/levels/high/article/Charles-Darwin/109642
Mutation (Britannica High, n.d.)
"Mutation, an alteration in the genetic material (the genome) of a cell of a living organism or of a virus that is more or less permanent and that can be transmitted to the cell’s or the virus’s descendants. (The genomes of organisms are all composed of DNA, whereas viral genomes can be of DNA or RNA; see heredity: The physical basis of heredity.)" ("Mutation", n.d.)
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Reference / citation: "Mutation", (n.d.) or ("Mutation", n.d.)
Reference list / Bibliography: Mutation. (n.d.). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://bt-libproxy.mentonegirls.vic.edu.au/levels/high/article/mutation/54492
Somatic mutation (Britannica High, n.d.)
"Somatic mutation, genetic alteration acquired by a cell that can be passed to the progeny of the mutated cell in the course of cell division." ("Somatic mutation", n.d.)
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Reference / citation: "Somatic mutation", (n.d.) or ("Somatic mutation", n.d.)
Reference list / Bibliography: Somatic mutation. (n.d.). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://bt-libproxy.mentonegirls.vic.edu.au/levels/high/article/somatic-mutation/99671
Germinal mutation (Britannica High, n.d.)
"Germinal mutation, alteration in the genetic constitution of the reproductive cells, occurring in the cell divisions that result in sperm and eggs. " ("Germinal mutation", n.d.)
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Reference / citation: "Germinal mutation", (n.d.) or ("Germinal mutation", n.d.)
Reference list / Bibliography: Germinal mutation. (n.d.). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from https://bt-libproxy.mentonegirls.vic.edu.au/levels/high/article/germinal-mutation/36592

Evolution | Overview: Biological Dictionary

See also the following articles relating to evolution from the Biology Dictionary.

Difference between Convergent and Divergent Evolution
"Over the eons of evolutionary time, organisms have differentiated themselves in recognizable patterns. Two of these patterns are known as convergent and divergent evolution. Both show the ways that organisms have responded to natural selection and provide evidence for the theory of evolution." (Biology Dictionary, n.d.)

Evolution | Overview: eBooks

Darwin and Evolution: Bullett Guides by James Napier
ISBN: 9781444141788
Publication Date: 2011
Chapters include: 1 Who was Charles Darwin? 2 Natural selection, 3 Species and speciation, 4 Darwin’s gaps, 5 Variation and natural selection, 6 Evidence for evolution, 7 The arguments against evolution, 8 The tree of life, 9 Human evolution, and 10 Evolution today – Darwin’s legacy .

What Is the Theory of Evolution? Shaping Modern Science by Robert Walker
ISBN: 9781427195272
Publication Date: 2011
This engaging title examines how Darwin developed his controversial theory of evolution, including his research methods and the data gathered during his extensive voyages. The book also explores the controversies that developed around the publication of Darwin's theory of natural selection and how the debate continues today.

Evolution | Overview: Online resources

Evolution (New England Complex Systems Institute, 2019)
"Biological evolution is a powerful and important process. It is a process which, over billions of years, gradually selects the organisms that are better adapted to their environments, and in this way takes advantage of random mutations to continuously change life and make all living organisms in existence be the way they are." (Bar-Yam, 2019)
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Reference / citation: Bar-Yam (2019) or (Bar-Yam, 2019)
Reference list / Bibliography: Bar-Yam, S. (2019). Evolution, New England Complex Systems Institute. Retrieved from https://necsi.edu/evolution

Evolution | Overview: Videos

"How can a "thumbs up" sign help us remember five processes that impact evolution? The story of the Five Fingers of Evolution gives us a clever way of understanding change in gene pools over time. " (Anderson, 2012)

See also the full online lesson at https://ed.ted.com/lessons/five-fingers-of-evolution

Source

When using this video don't forget to cite and reference your sources. For more information and help see the Kerferd Library referencing guide and / or CiteMaker.
In text reference / citation:Anderson (2012) or (Anderson, 2012)
Bibliography / Reference list: Anderson, P., (2012). Five fingers of evolution [eVideo], Ted-ED. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/5NdMnlt2keE

Evolution: Overview

Resource Key

LEVEL

LEVEL

LEVEL

General Capabilities

Enduring Understandings

Quick Links

Evolution | Overview: Keywords

Evolution | Overview: Articles

Evolution | Overview: Biological Dictionary

Evolution | Overview: eBooks

Evolution | Overview: Online resources

Evolution | Overview: Videos

Source

Evolution | Curriculum alignment