Evolution
Map
Arrows point from what you learn first to what it opens. Point at a concept to light up its chain and where it comes back deeper. Right-click a concept (or press and hold it) for its lessons and stories.
- Proven to depth123
- Open
- Locked
- Comes back deeper
Learning path
In the order the concepts build on each other.
- FossilsReadyThe remains or traces of living things from long ago, preserved in rock. In rock layers that haven't been disturbed, deeper fossils are older, so fossils record how life has changed over billions of years.
- VariationLockedThe differences between members of the same species - in size, colour, shape and much more. They come from genes, from the environment, and from mutations that add new versions of genes.Opens after: Heredity
- Natural selectionLockedLiving things vary, many of their differences are inherited, and more young are born than can survive. So the inherited traits that help living things survive and breed become more common over the generations. It is the main way species evolve.Opens after: Variation
- AdaptationLockedAn inherited trait that helps a living thing survive and have young where it lives - like a camel's long eyelashes in a sandstorm. Adaptations are shaped by natural selection over many generations, not by any animal trying to change.Opens after: Natural selection
- Common ancestryLockedAll living things are related: any two species, however different, come from a shared ancestor somewhere in the past. Fossils, shared body plans and DNA all point to one great tree of life.Opens after: Natural selection, Fossils
Connections to other domains
- Variation needs HeredityGenes and Inheritance