Agenda 050701

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Agenda 05/07/01

Evolution: Evolving Species
1. Answer the following question:
2. Homework Check
  1. Fossils: Clues To The Unknown Past.
  2. Reconstructing a Fossil Pterosaur.
3. Homework:

Tullymonster.

Classnotes:

Answering the Question of the Day:
1. Before answering the question, stop and list elements in the environment that can be easily measured.
  1. Temperature
  2. Wind
  3. Humidity
  4. pH
  5. salinity
2. Next ask how changes of each element in the environment affects organisms.
  1. Every living organisms has a narrow range of temperature, humidity, pH, salinity, etc. where they thrive. The farther the environment moves from that range puts stress on the organism, and can result in their deaths.
Fossils: Clues To The Unknown Past
1. Fossils are usually the remains of hard body parts, such as shells and bones.
2. Fossilization can happen in several ways, such as carbonization, permineraliation, recrystalization, and replacement.
3. All of the above make direct evidence for the fossil record.
4. Indirect evidence of the fossil record also provides good information.
5. Three types or indirect evidence are molds, casts, and trace fossils.
6. Trace fossils tells us about what the organisms did through things like animal tracks, burrows, and borings.
Reconstructing a Fossil Pterosaur
1. Before reassembling the bones of the Pterosaur, write down your basic assumptions. This is a skeleton, like ours or bird's skeletons, so there are some very common characteristics of skeletons.
  1. There is a skull.
  2. There is a vertebrae.
  3. There are limbs, or appendages.
  4. The upper arm and thigh have only one bone, the humerus and femur respectively.
  5. The forearm and lower leg have two bones, the ulna and radius, and the tibia and fibula respectively.
  6. The hands and feet have about 20 bones each, three phlanges and one carpal or tarsal.
  7. The hands are attached to the arm bones.
  8. The feet are attached to the leg bones.
  9. The arms are attached to the pectoral girdle.
  10. The legs are attached to the pelvic girdle.
2. Now remember that evolution if very conservative. New parts will not appear. Parts will simple be restructured, such as longer fingers, and shorter legs.
3. Now lets check your Pterosaur.