1. What were the prevailing theories concerning the history of living organisms on this planet prior to
Darwin?  Who was Lamarck and how did his theories on the mechanisms of evolution of living organisms differ from Darwin’s?

2.  Who were Charles Lyell, and Alfred R. Wallace?  How did each of these men influence Darwin in the development of his ideas concerning evolution?  How might Gregor Mendel's findings have influenced the develoment of Darwin's ideas on evolution?

3. What do we mean by evolution?  According to Darwin, what is the driving force behind evolution (i.e. what causes organisms to evolve?)  What observations and inferences did Darwin make that led him to this theory of evolution by natural selection?

4. What do we mean when we say that “it is populations of organisms that evolve, not individuals,
however, natural selection acts directly upon individuals.”  What do we mean by the following terms
fitness, adaptation, phylogeny, artificial selection.

5. Be familiar with the types of evidence that support the evolution of life (i.e. biogeographical, paleontological, comparative anatomy, comparative embryology, molecular).  Be sure you understand how this evidence supports the evolution organisms over time.   Be familiar with some of the documentedexamples of natural selection at work. 

6. What is wrong with the statement that is often made by those less informed than yourselves: “Well, you know that evolution is just a theory”?