its homework and i have 18 minutes so TYPE YOUR ANSWERS FAST MAN!
2006-09-25 14:42:42 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
its caused by random mutations and then the the mutations that benefit the species live on rather than any deformities
2006-09-25 14:45:07 · answer #1 · answered by :: [ DARK GHOST ] :: 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
The biochemistry underlying evolution is a purely random process. Genetic mutations do not follow any rationale. The environmental adaptation of the mutants is not random. Only those aclimated to the current environment will survive. On a microbial scale, the vast majority of mutants are not viable. Furthermore, consider that a single ancestral species often gives rise to more than one evolved species many years later. The act of one species differentiating into many decreases the order (increases the randomness) of the ecosystem.
2006-09-25 21:59:18 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No.
The theory of natural selection has a random component ... *variation*.
But it also has a non-random component ... the selective pressures of nature.
E.g., there is nothing 'random' about the fact that those individuals with more hair will survive better and reproduce more offspring in colder climates than individuals with less hair.
It is true that, because of the random nature of the first component ... variation ... evolution of a species is not predictable. But "unpredictability" is not the same as "randomness." (To go deeper would be to get into the concepts of chaos theory.)
2006-09-25 22:08:17 · answer #3 · answered by secretsauce 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No. it follows a certain pattern. It shows a developmental pattern from simple to complex. That's why it is predictable! Evolution is also a result of long-term process of species adapting to its environment. So it is therefore dictated by the existing environmental conditions. Those organisms that can not adapt to harsh environmental conditions become extinct.
2006-09-26 01:50:09 · answer #4 · answered by Jomaxee 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Do not confuse random with chance. Random means in no particular numerical order.Mutation rates can be estimated quite closely, for evolutionary purposes. The variance between , say viruses and humans, is quite large and speaks to the variation they present to natural selection,.
2006-09-25 23:33:09 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes and no.
The atual mutation is random. After the mutation occurs, natural selection, which is not random, takes over.
A good example of this happened when humans mutated from Neanderthals. Humans continued their exsistance while neanderthals died off and became extinct.
2006-09-26 02:16:18 · answer #6 · answered by Lindsay 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Evolution is not random, it is governed by natural selection. Mutation is random. But just because evolution is nonrandom doesn't mean it has a "purpose" or is building toward something.
2006-09-25 23:41:40 · answer #7 · answered by candy2mercy 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
YOU GOT SOME BAD ANSWERS!! Evolution is totally random. People like to think that human beings are somehow the "summit" of evolution but we are just the result of a series of random mutations. When an accidental mutation or arrangement of genes makes an organism more successful in adapting to its environment, it will survive to reproduce and pass those traits to its offspring. That's how "fitness" is defined.
So there.
2006-09-25 21:53:46 · answer #8 · answered by keepsondancing 5 · 1⤊ 3⤋
It's the non-random expression of randomly varying genetic expression... so It's half random.
2006-09-25 23:55:15 · answer #9 · answered by ChooseRealityPLEASE 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No its not random per say. Usually evolution occurs when it is beneficial to an animal or plant etc. Although totally random evolution does occur. Look at the platypus what the hell went wrong there?
2006-09-25 21:45:38 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋