Question

The geologists of Darwin's time were revising previous estimates of Earth's age. Some suggested that Earth may be millions of years old, whereas previous assumptions were that it was only thousands of years old.
Why was an older estimate of Earth's age important to Darwin's theory?

• A. Darwin observed evidence of migrations between continents, which would take long periods of time to complete.
• B. Darwin proposed natural selection as a slow and gradual process.
• C. DNA mutations are rare occurrences.
• D. Extinctions are rare events, but there is evidence of many extinct organisms.

Answer 1

The correct option is B Darwin proposed natural selection as a slow and gradual process.

Darwin was influenced by various theories put forth by philosophers and scientists like James Sutton, Charles Lyell who believed that the age of the earth was infinite, which could be estimated by the process of erosion, stratification etc which is not possible over a few thousands of years. Which is also true for formation and evolution of organism.Which was influenced by changing environmental conditions that lead the organisms to adapt or not. The change in the environment took billions of years and so did the organisms to adapt and evolve

So, the correct answer is 'Darwin proposed natural selection as a slow and gradual process'