AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Darwin’s concept of natural selection was based on several key observations: Traits are often heritable. In living organisms, many characteristics are inherited, or passed from parent to offspring. (Darwin knew this was the case, even though he did not know that traits were inherited via genes.)

Detailed explanation-2: -Darwin did not know that DNA would become an important part of his Theory of Evolution. In fact, the subcategory of evolution called microevolution is completely based on DNA and the mechanism of how genetic information is passed down from parents to offspring.

Detailed explanation-3: -Darwin did not know that genes existed, but he could see that many traits are heritable-passed from parents to offspring. Mutations are changes in the structure of the molecules that make up genes, called DNA. The mutation of genes is an important source of genetic variation within a population.

Detailed explanation-4: -Darwin’s contributions to evolutionary biology are well known, but his contributions to genetics are much less known. His main contribution was the collection of a tremendous amount of genetic data, and an attempt to provide a theoretical framework for its interpretation.

Detailed explanation-5: -Darwin and inheritance But at the time, as he himself acknowledged in “On the Origin of Species”, Darwin did not have a clear idea about how such variations were inherited.