Evolution and inheritance
I can use fossils, inheritance and adaptation to explain how living things change over time.
For grown-ups: this lesson in words
Year 6 · Science
Evolution and inheritance: I can use fossils, inheritance and adaptation to explain how living things change over time.
Here is the ground, cut open to show what is underneath.
Under the soil are layers of rock.
Inside the rock is a fossil: the remains of a living thing from long ago.
Most fossils are millions of years old. They tell us about life long ago.
Picture: A drawing of layers of ground cut open. Labels: soil, sedimentary rock and fossil.
Fossils of horses tell us how big horses were long ago.
55 million years ago, early horses were only about 40 cm tall.
Today, horses are about 160 cm tall.
Fossils show that living things have changed over millions of years.
Picture: A bar chart called "Height of horses at the shoulder". The side says "Height in cm". 55 million years ago: 40; 35 million years ago: 60; 15 million years ago: 100; Today: 160.
Your turn: A fossil is found in a layer of rock. What can it tell scientists?
Picture: A drawing of layers of ground cut open. Labels: sedimentary rock and fossil.
Choose one:
- What a living thing from long ago looked like
- What the living thing will look like next year
- That the living thing is still alive in the rock
Answer
The answer: What a living thing from long ago looked like
A fossil shows the shape and size of a living thing from long ago.
Words to know
- fossil:
- The remains or trace of a living thing from long ago, preserved in rock.
- offspring:
- The young of a living thing.
- inherited:
- Passed on from parents to their young, like eye colour.
- acquired:
- Gained during life, like a skill you learn.
- adaptation:
- A feature that helps a living thing survive in its habitat.
- evolution:
- The slow change in living things over many generations.
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