Final Evolution Essay

Cameron Marlin


Ms. Terrell


Period 1


14 May 2010


Evolution Essay


During this project I studied a couple of theories of evolution. There were a lot of theories; they are Darwin’s Theory which is the theory of natural selection and the most believable theory of all of them, Cosmic Evolution- The development of space, time, matter and energy from nothing. Stellar Evolution- The development of complex stars from the chaotic first elements. Chemical Evolution- The development of all chemical elements from an original two. Planetary Evolution- The development of planetary systems from swirling elements. Organic Evolution- The development of organic life from inorganic matter (a rock). Macro-Evolution- The development of one kind of life from a totally different kind of life. Micro-Evolution- The development of variations within the same kind of life. I still don’t believe in the big bang theory or any of the other theories like that. I believe that god made this earth and put Adam and Eve on as the first two people in this world. After that it is different, Darwin’s theory and The Gastraea Theory become true. The Gastraea theory says you have to go through the impregnation stage to make more offspring’s which is true, and Darwin’s theory says that natural selection, which is a survival aid to live, and for the newer the generation the more they become adapted to the environment.


The favorite part of this project was researching all the different theories of evolution, I never knew that there would be that many to find. A lot of the theories were really interesting too. But I still believe that the theory of god creating earth and Adam and Eve, the Gastraea theory that says that you have to go through the impregnation stage to have more offspring’s and Darwin’s theory that says that as generation moves on you become more and more adapted to the environment that you are in by genetics.

Is There Evidence of Evolution?: 2nd Critical Source

Cameron Marlin

Ms. Terrell

Pre-AP English 11


2 April 2010

Is There Evidence of Evolution?

In Evolution by Mark Ridley, he believes there is evidence to Evolution because there are certain genes that are the same in species, and these are called, homologies. Each species couldn’t be developed independently, according to Ridley, when he says, “Homologies fall into hierarchically arranged clusters, as if they had evolved from a tree of life, and not independently in each species” (43). He believes that evolution begins with a change on a small scale, to a larger scale, such as humans. He then goes on to say, that the adaptation in living things has no non-evolutionary explanation. Then, he says that the existence of evolution depends on what it’s being argued against.

In my opinion, I believe that Ridley’s theory about homologies is true because every species that are the same have at least one gene in them that is the same. If this wasn’t true, all species would have all different characteristics. His theory is saying the same thing as Darwin’s theory. They both said that the larger organisms come from two smaller ancestors. In some instances evolution can be ruled out but usually it’s not ruled out by a different theory. Everyone has their own opinion on theories of evolution, so it depends on what you believe in.

Ridley, Mark. Evolution. Australia: Blackwell Publishing, 2004. Print.

Evolution vs. Creationism: 1st Multimedia Source

Cameron Marlin

Ms. Terrell

Pre-AP English 11

9 April 2010

Evolution vs. Creationism

In this nine minute YouTube video about the controversial issue of Evolution and Creationism, the scientists favor the Evolution side. Most of the scientists in this video say that the controversy is within the society, and not so much within the biologist’s opinions, and this is evident because David Deamer, a Biomolecular Engineer, says, “there is no controversy within the biologists, and within people who work in Evolutionary Theory” (3:00). The scientists go on to say that there are always going to be disagreements on the way of Evolution between scientists, but there’s no controversy when it comes to the theory being right or wrong. Some scientists think people don’t believe in Evolution due to religious reasons, and they say it’s often a political controversy as well. What the scientists in this video are trying to get us to understand is that we can’t just assume that something is wrong, we have to study it first.

In my opinion, more people should come to the realization of what Evolution really is, and not just assume what they always hear. Everyone should do more research before they get to a conclusion. Also, it’s unrealistic to think that the biologists are going to have a problem within their group about the controversial issue, when they wouldn’t study it if they didn’t want to, or if it wasn’t something they were interested in. I feel like everyone has their opinion, and I think that people should go with what they feel, instead of listening to the scientists all the time. It’s really not all about them, they just do the research.


"Evolution vs. Creationism: Listen to the Scientists." YouTube Video. Online Video clip.

Cosmic Evolution: 5th Critical Source

Cameron Marlin

Ms. Terrell

Pre-AP English 11

22 April 2010

Cosmic Evolution

In the book Cosmic Evolution, the Rise of Complexity in Nature, by Eric J. Chaisson, Chaisson explains the theory of Cosmic evolution. Chaisson says that “Evolution is much as a fact as is the earth is revolving around the sun.”(148). Chaisson also explains how his theory is different from Darwin’s. Darwin’s theory goes off of the natural selection and the Cosmic Evolution theory says the development of space, time, matter and energy from nothing. This means that the earth was made from nothing. Another word for cosmic evolution theorem is the big bang theory.

In my opinion, the big bang theory does not seem as real as all the other theories. Darwin’s theory makes a lot more since then the big bang theory. At least Darwin’s theory has a reasonable understanding about natural selection. The big bang theory just say that the idea that space, time, matter and energy somehow "exploded" (or expanded) from essentially nothing in the sudden "big bang" that was the birth of our universe. The cosmic evolution theory is not as believable as the others in my opinion.

Chaisson, Eric. Cosmic Evolution: The Risk of Complexity in Nature. Harvard: Library of congress cataloging, 2001. 148-208. Print.

The Gastraea Theory: 4th Critical Source

Cameron Marlin

Ms. Terrell

Pre-AP English 11

16 April 2010

The Gastraea Theory

In the book, The Evolution of Man, Volume 1, by Ernst Haeckel, Haeckel talks about the Gastraea Theory in chapter 1.8. Haeckel says that “The agreement of the animal world in the first changes after impregnation of the Ovum, and the formation of the stem cell begin in all cases of segmentation of the Ovum and formation of the germinal layers.” (102). The protozo is the only exception, it is the smallest and simplest form of animal life. This is the only group that cannot form germinal layers or stem cells. Then the stem cell that proceeds from the impregnated ovum always passes by the repeated cleavage into a bunch of single cells.

In my opinion, Gastraea’s theory about the impregnated female egg going through the segmentation process is true. This theory explains that to make more species of the animal life you have to have Gastraea’s theorem. For example, Gastraea’s Theorem says that to make species you have to impregnate, go through segmentation and then have the baby. This is true for all living things, the female has to be impregnated to have any offspring’s. The ovum goes through the body to make many single cells, and I strongly agree with his theory.

Haeckle, Ernst. Evolution of Man, Volume 1. 1. Human Embryology, 102-118. Print.

Natural Selection Theory: 1st Critical Source

Cameron Marlin

Ms. Terrell

Pre-AP English 11

26 March 2010

Natural Selection Theory

In “The Theory of Natural Selection,” in The Theory of Evolution by John Maynard Smith, the idea of natural selection is that larger organisms come from simpler organisms. In this Darwin says that we all come from the same type of organisms by saying, “descended from a common ancestor: the birds and the bananas, the fishes and the flowers -- all related” (38). Creatures evolve from the simplistic ancestors naturally over a long period of time. So basically, random genetic mutations happen with an organism’s genetic code. This happens for natural selection, a survival aid for the organism. Over time this nation selection process turns into a new generation, and then eventually into an entirely different organism.

In my opinion, I believe that natural selection is real, Darwin explains how the larger things in life come from a lot of smaller things. For example, a family tree, its starts at the bottom with the two people, then gets bigger as it goes up as people reproduce. This is exactly what Darwin is saying about the organisms in natural selection. The same is true for the survival aid, as the generations go up the organisms get more and more adapted to their environment. So those are some examples why I believe that the natural selection theory is true.

Smith, John. The Theory of Evolution. United Kingdom: Penguin Books, 1958. 38-53. Print.

Book Review

Cameron Marlin

Ms. Terrell

Pre-AP English 11

30 April 2010

The Great Ideas of Science

The book I read was Evolution, The Great Ideas of Science, by Paul Fleisher. This book explains a lot of different theories of evolution. The main theory they talked about in this book was Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Darwin studied thousands of different species, he showed that no two species are the exactly alike. He realized that over millions of years traits tend to change and adapt to the environment of the species. Each year genetic discoveries are made to give proof that Darwin's theory is true.

This book relates with my topic because evolution is my topic. Darwin's theory of evolution is on of the most famous of all evolution theories. This book had different theories of evolution, but the one that they talked about the most and the one that they made everyone believe is true, is Darwin's theory. This book really helped me out because it had so much information on evolution. Now I believe that that Darwin's theory is real because of all the details and all of the statistics that scientist show about his theory. Another thing that Darwin's theory tells us is that people and animals get more and more adapted to their environment more and more each day.

Then, when people or animals reproduce, there children are more adapted than they are. They get traits and genetics that help them survive and reproduce in their own envirement. He was also right when he said absolutely no two creatures are the same, in this entire world. Even twins are not excactly the same. Charles Darwin helped many scientist, the scientist were pretty much positive that species changed over time, they just didnt know how. But with Darwin's theory of evolution they can figure out how these species change with a long amount of time.

Fleisher, Paul. Evolution, Great Ideas of Science. Minneapolis, Minnisota: Twenty First Century Books, 2006. 81. Print.