Question

Darwin:

• A. Was the first person to realize that organisms can evolve.
• B. Believed that organisms could pass on acquired changes to offspring.
• C. Was eager to publish his theory so that he could get all the credit.
• D. Worked out the mechanism of evolution by natural selection.

Answer 1

The correct option is D

Worked out the mechanism of evolution by natural selection.

The correct option is D.

Explanation of correct option:

1. Charles Darwin was born in the year 1809 and he obtained an unpaid position as a naturalist on a survey ship in 1831 and spent five years at sea surveying South America's East Coast.
2. He discovered a distinct distribution of finch species during his five-week stay on Galapagos island.
3. After gathering a large amount of data, Darwin realized that in the face of strong competition among members of a population, any variation that favors survival in a certain environment would boost an individual's ability to reproduce and leave fertile offspring.
4. Variations that are less favorable would reduce an individual's chances of survival.
5. In 1939, Darwin developed a theory of evolution by ‘natural selection’ based on these findings.

Final answer: Darwin worked out the mechanism of evolution by natural selection.