How did Lamarck and Darwin differ in their thinking about species?
A. Darwin thought that organisms could induce their own changes, while Lamarck thought that change could only be induced by an organism's environment.
B. Darwin thought that change could occur in individual organisms, while Lamarck thought that change could only occur across generations.
C. Darwin thought that genes controlled a species' ability to survive, while Lamarck thought that genes were only one part of a species' ability to adapt.
D. Darwin thought that organisms had to struggle to survive, while Lamarck thought that organisms could make adjustments when conditions became difficult.
D
To determine how Lamarck and Darwin differed in their thinking about species, we need to compare their views on the mechanisms of change and adaptation in organisms.
Lamarck proposed that change could be induced by an organism's own efforts or behaviors during its lifetime. He believed in the idea of "use and disuse," which suggests that characteristics that an organism actively uses will become more developed, while unused characteristics will deteriorate. This concept also included the belief that organisms could pass on acquired traits to their offspring. For example, Lamarck suggested that if a giraffe stretched its neck to reach leaves higher on trees, its offspring would inherit longer necks as a result.
On the other hand, Darwin's theory of evolution through natural selection proposed that changes occurred across generations rather than within individual organisms. He argued that favorable variations or adaptations in an organism's traits would increase the organism's chances of surviving and reproducing, ultimately leading to the passing on of those advantageous traits to future generations. Darwin emphasized the role of variation within populations and the environmental factors that determined which variations were beneficial for survival.
Based on this information, the correct answer is B. Darwin thought that change could occur in individual organisms, while Lamarck thought that change could only occur across generations. Lamarck's ideas focused on the concept of an organism's responses to the environment during its lifetime, while Darwin's theory of natural selection emphasized the long-term changes happening at the population level through the process of variation and selection.
No, this is incorrect.
The correct answer is B. Darwin thought that change could occur in individual organisms, while Lamarck thought that change could only occur across generations.