Macroevolution

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/macroevolution

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific discipline?Evolutionary Biology. Focuses on evolutionary patterns and processes above the species level
2. What is the primary evidence streams?Fossil record, comparative genomics, and phylogenetic analysis of extant and extinct taxa
3. How is macroevolution different from microevolution?Microevolution looks at small changes inside one species, while macroevolution looks at changes that create new species and larger groups of species.
4. What causes new species to form in macroevolution?New species form when populations become reproductively isolated, meaning they can no longer interbreed. This can happen when they are separated by land, change their mating habits, or have a different number of chromosomes.

Speciation: The evolutionary process by which new biological species arise from existing ones through reproductive isolation.
Phylogenetics: The study of evolutionary relationships and divergence among biological entities, often represented by phylogenetic trees.
Adaptive Radiation: The rapid diversification of a lineage into new ecological niches, often following the evolution of a key innovation or the opening of new environments.