Page used by Dr. Nilsson's STC Environmental Biology classes.
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Definitions

Natural history is defined by The Free dictionary as, "the study and description of organisms and natural objects, especially their origins, evolution, and interrelationships." Note that the term evolution is included in the definition. Some persons adhering to the creationist idea of how life came to be on this planet, often call Natural History Museums "evolutionists museums", which then by definition is correct.
Biological evolution is defined by The Free dictionary as, "change in the genetic composition of a population during successive generations, as a result of natural selection acting on the genetic variation among individuals, and resulting in the development of new species."
Natural selection is defined by The Free dictionary as, "the process in nature by which, according to Darwin's theory of evolution, only the organisms best adapted to their environment tend to survive and transmit their genetic characteristics in increasing numbers to succeeding generations while those less adapted tend to be eliminated."


Introduction

x Below is a picture of Charles Darwin with a link to one of the most famous, largest and best-known natural history museums in the world, the American Museum of Natural History. It is located in Central Park, in New York City. The museum (http://www.amnh.org/) has been established for a long time and has a worldwide reputation for science quality. The link below, with Darwin's picture, will take you straight to the online Darwin Exhibit. If you wish you can also go to the museum home page here.


CLICK ON THE PICTURE OF DARWIN TO ENTER THE MUSEUM EXHIBIT!




After or at the same time you visit the museum you must answer some questions about the exhibit in the Darwin Worksheet Quiz located in the regular course shell on Blackboard. When you click on the museum links on the quiz a second browser page will open for surfing the museum pages while you take the quiz. (For an example how I recommend you arrange the two pages, see below. Darwin Worksheet Quiz web page to the left. Museum web page to the right.)

You do not have to use Respondus Lock Down Browser for this quiz but you must use a password to open the quiz. The password for the museum visit worksheet quiz is is Darwin. (The password is case specific.) As with most "open book" quizzes in this class you have 3 hours and an unlimited amount of attempts, so before you make a serious attempt I suggest that you try it out a time or two first. It is probably also a good ide to click on the Darwin exhibit icon on this page -- right now -- and visit the museum for a while to get an idea what it is without having to answer quiz questions.

Have a good surf!

Dr. Nilsson


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WebMaster of the Evolution Task Force web site and Copyright    © 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, Jan A. Nilsson. Page created  04.II.2006, last updated  09.V.2009, most likely during the wee hours of the morning on a G3 PowerBook owned by Jan A. Nilsson.  Web page layout and design © and intellectual property Jan A. Nilsson.  Content on Dr. Nilsson's CyberOffice may not be used for commercial purposes.   All rights reserved.  Except for educational purposes and  'fair use' (see below), reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.  If used for educational purposes and 'fair use', including photographs, source must be given.  (Some clip art, texts and backgrounds used on Dr. Nilsson's CyberOffice downloaded for educational purposes and/or 'fair use' from Internet free domain has no source.)   (Dinosuars clipart on this page downloaded from Kaboose:  Kids domain, http://www.kidsdomain.com/brain/dino/clip2.html.)



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