Work through the list without notes. If you cannot do a statement, follow its link, then come back. Guide = study guide; Practice = practice questions.
Understanding
- I can name the five kinds of data that support evolution (geographical, geological, physical, biochemical, mathematical) and give an example of each. (Guide: “Many sciences, one conclusion”)
- I can explain how the order of rock layers gives the relative age of fossils. (Guide: “The age of the rock layers”; Practice Q5)
- I can explain how carbon-14 dating works and why it only suits remains up to about 50,000 years old. (Guide: “Radioactive decay of isotopes”; Practice Q3)
- I can explain how matching layers and fossils between sites, and fossils on separated continents, count as geographical evidence. (Guide: “Geographical data”; Practice Q5)
- I can explain how homologous and vestigial structures show common ancestry, and why analogous structures do not. (Guide: “Morphological evidence”; Practice Q1, Q6)
Calculation and skills
- I can find the number of half-lives from the fraction remaining and calculate an age. (Guide: Worked example 1; Practice Q2)
- I can read an age from a decay curve when the fraction is not a whole number of half-lives. (Guide: Figure 2)
- I can count sequence differences and calculate percentage identity. (Guide: Worked example 2; Practice Q4)
- I can describe a table or graph using specific values, the trend and the relationship between variables. (Guide: “Describing data well”; Practice Q4, Q7)
Reasoning
- I can use the number of sequence differences to decide which species share the most recent common ancestor. (Guide: Worked example 2; Practice Q4)
- I can explain why DNA can show more differences than the protein it codes for. (Guide: Worked example 2; Practice Q4)
- I can explain why independent lines of evidence that agree make a stronger case, and state the assumptions behind a dating method. (Practice Q5, Q7)
All ticked? Move on to Topic 7.7, Common Ancestry, or return to the course roadmap.