Charles Darwin and Natural Selection

Genetics and evolution: Inheritance, chromosomes, DNA and genes.

Enrich students’ biological understanding of the Galapagos with an historical perspective. The Beagle’s voyage to the Galapagos provides context for Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection.

Learning objectives

  • To find out why Charles Darwin’s observations in the Galapagos played an important role in the development of his theory of evolution by natural selection.
  • To understand how Darwin’s theory of natural selection results in species evolution and extinction.
  • To appreciate that multiple species and sub-species can derive from a common genetic ancestor as a result of evolution by natural selection.

Get the lesson here.

Visit the Teacher Zone to see all teaching resources.

« Discovering Galapagos homepage