Week 30 – Darwin’s Voyage

Next, let’s “talk” Biology!  Before COVID-19 shut us down, we learned all about our inner animals.  With the return of school via distance learning, our study of evolution continues with learning Charles Dawin and the Voyage of the Beagle. Here is the assignment:

1. Watch the HHMI Biointeractive video below.
2. Next, you will follow in Darwin’s footsteps as he explored the Galapagos Islands.
   • If you have access to Internet Explorer, open the Explore the Galapagos feature on the PBS NOVA website where you will take a tour of where Darwin went and what he observed.
   • For those without access to Internet Explorer, my apologies.  This type of interactive activity requires Adobe Flash which is blocked by the Chrome browser.  Do not despair!  You are in for a treat!  Using the free software OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) to capture my screen, I’ve created three video walk-throughs of the Explore the Galapagos tour.  Answers to the questions below are found within the video linked to the question.  You will need to pause the videos frequently in order to read the content.
3. Create a Google Doc titled “Name – Week 30” (example: Baxter Swart – Week 30).
4. Share the doc with david.swart@g.highlineschools.org
5. Copy the questions below into your doc and then answer them all in complete sentences using the Explore the Galapagos website or the video walk-throughs below:

 

• • Where are the Galapagos Islands?
  • First click on “Explore the Islands” and read about three of the islands.  Summarize one observation for each of the three islands you read about.

 

• • Now click on “What Darwin Saw”.  You will be going through his various stages, reading about what Darwin said, and listening to interviews.  Summarize Darwin’s first impressions (just writing the opening sentence will get you zero credit, click for the full story).
  • What surprised Darwin on the islands?
  • What did the tortoises offer the local people?  How did it benefit Darwin?
  • At first Darwin thought the birds were unrelated, but what ideas eventually came from his observations of the finches?
  • What was the fallout (or result) of Darwin’s journey?

 

• • Go back to the “Explore the Islands”.  Look at some of the interpretative panoramics and the animals.  Pick two animals and summarize their unique characteristics.
  • Look at “Darwin’s Finches”.  What do you think it means by unique niche, based on what the rest of the paragraph says?
  • How are the beaks different and why was that important?

Return to the Week 30 instructions post.

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