Name: ____________________________________ Period: _______ Date: __________

Ideas that Shaped Darwin’s Thinking

Introduction 1. What do geologists study?
Darwin was greatly influenced by the work of other scientists.
Recall that the HMS Beagle spent nearly 5 years sailing around the
world and during times when the ship was sailing, Darwin spent time
reading and writing in his journals. Geologists, studying the structure
and history of Earth in rock formations, were making new observations
and making new inferences about forces that shaped Earth. Naturalists
were describing and analyzing connections between organisms and
their environments. These and other new ways of thinking about the
natural world helped guide Darwin as he proposed hypotheses and
gathered data to test them. 2. Who were James Hutton and Charles
Lyell? What major belief did they
An Ancient and Changing Earth challenge during their lifetime?
Many Europeans in Darwin’s day believed Earth was only a few
thousand years old, and that Earth hadn’t changed much since it
originated. By Darwin’s time, a new generation of geologists was
thinking in very different ways about Earth’s history. Geologists James
Hutton and Charles Lyell proposed important hypotheses based on
their own research and on the work of other geologists. Hutton and
Lyell concluded that Earth is extremely old and that processes that
changed Earth in the past are the same processes that occur on Earth
in the present.
Hutton and Geological Change 3. Before Hutton, what was the prevailing
Hutton recognized the connections between numerous geological view about the age of the earth?
processes and geologic features, such as mountains, valleys, and layers
of rock that seemed to be bent or folded. Hutton realized that certain
kinds of rocks are formed very slowly as sediments build up and are
squeezed into layers.
4. According to Hutton, How old was Earth
Hutton also argued that forces beneath Earth’s surface could push
and how did he come up with this
rock layers upward, tilting or twisting them in the process. Over long
conclusion?
periods of time, those forces could build mountain ranges. Mountains
could also be eroded by rain, wind, heat, and cold. He proposed that
most of these processes occurred very slowly and that Earth must be
millions of years old instead of a few thousand years.

Lyell’s Principles of Geology and Uniformitarianism 5. How is Lyell’s theory about ancient Earth
similar to Hutton’s?
Lyell argued that the laws of nature are constant over time and
that scientists must explain past events in terms of processes they can
observe in the present. Uniformitarianism is the hypothesis that the
geologic processes that once shaped Earth millions of years ago must 6. What is Lyell’s theory of ancient Earth
be the same ones we see in action today. Lyell reasoned that volcanoes based on?
released lava and gases on ancient Earth just as they do now and
ancient rivers slowly dug canyons just as they do now. Lyell’s theory
suggested that Earth must very old in order for these changes to occur.
Observations that Confirmed Lyell and Hutton’s Hypotheses 7. What are three events that Darwin
 experienced during his journey on the
While on his journey with the HMS Beagle, Darwin read Lyell’s HMS Beagle that helped to confirm the
essay, The Principles of Geology. Darwin witnessed an Earthquake hypotheses proposed by Charles Lyell?
in South America that was so strong that it threw Darwin onto the
ground. The same earthquake also lifted a stretch of rocky
shoreline more than 3 meters out of the sea with mussels and other
sea creatures clinging to it. A few weeks later, Darwin observed
fossils of marine animals in the Andes mountains thousands of feet
above sea level. These experiences confirmed Lyell’s hypotheses.
Geologic events such as earthquakes, repeated over many times
over many years, could build South America’s Andes Mountains – a
few feet at a time. Rocks that had once been beneath the sea could
be pushed up into mountains. So Darwin asked himself, “If Earth
could change over time, could species change, also?”
Lamarck’s Evolutionary Hypothesis 8. What were Lamarck’s two hypotheses
Darwin wasn’t the first to suggest that species could evolve. about the evolution of species?
The fossil record already provided strong evidence that life had
changed over time. Ideas differed, however, as to how the change
happened. Jean Baptiste Lamarck, a French naturalist, proposed
two hypotheses.
Hypothesis of Perfectionism
9. Can organisms ever achieve
Lamarck hypothesized that all species have an inborn urge to
perfection? Explain.
become more complex and perfect. As a result, organisms change
and acquire features that help them live more successfully in their
environments. However, all of an organism’s characteristics are a
result of compromise. For example, giraffes have long necks to help
them reach food that is high in the trees, but the long neck is not
helpful in obtaining a drink of water. The long neck on a giraffe is
10. Can acquired traits be passed on to
not a perfect solution for its environment; it is a result of
offspring? Explain.
compromise.
Hypothesis of Use and Disuse (Acquired Traits)
Lamarck also believed that if an organism used a particular organ, it
would become bigger and stronger over time and that the trait
would be passed on to its offspring. He also believed that if an
organism did not use an organ, it would shrivel up from disuse over
time. We now know that this is not true. If an individual loses an
arm or leg during its lifetime, the lost trait is not passed on to the
offspring.
Malthus and Population Growth 11. What was Malthus’s theory about the
human population?
An English economist, Thomas Malthus, wrote an essay about
human population growth. Malthus noticed that birth rates in
humans were surpassing human death rates. Malthus reasoned
that if the human population grew unchecked, there wouldn’t be 12. Write the name of the person in the
enough living space and food for everyone. The only things that blank that matches his hypothesis.
really kept the human population from over-populating were war,
famine, and disease. Darwin read this essay and concluded that not __________: All species have the ability to
only did humans have more offspring than they could support, but over populate
that all organisms have also this ability.
__________: Use and disuse; Inheritance of
acquired Traits
__________: Forces on Earth are the same
as ancient Earth
__________: Humans have the ability to
over populate