Unit 8 Reflection

In Unit 8, the key concept that we learned about is evolution. Evolution is the change in allele frequencies over time. Some factors that lead to evolution are natural selection, which is when the individuals with favorable traits survive, and artificial breeding, which is when humans breed two different individuals to produce new traits. The change of allele frequencies can be seen in our hunger games lab, which shows how the big “A” allele’s percentage decreased while the small “a” increase over time. This lab also shows that individuals phenotype favored by the nature will survive and reproduce, thus shifting the alleles in the gene pool. Although some of the traits are less useful, it is important that the alleles for these traits to exist in the gene pool. This is because variation is key to the survival of a species. Variation is really important because if there is a change in climate or environment, the traits that were once useless may suddenly become favorable, potentially helping the entire species survive. In addition to the concept of evolution, we also learned essential points about Earth’s history. We created a geologic timeline that shows major eras and periods. Through this lesson, we are able to recognize the how short human has been staying on Earth. While others species, like dinosaurs, have occupied Earth for a long period of time, humans only took up an extremely small fraction of Earth’s history. This understanding helps us recognize the huge scale of the history of Earth.

I want to learn more about how humans evolve. One of the questions I have is “Will humans eventually evolve?”

In order to become more assertive, I’ve tried to share my ideas with my group and be open-minded to others’ suggestions.  However, I still need to work on being more confident

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