What is Darwin’s explanation of inheritance by Natural Selection?

This Critical Analysis assignment asks you to analyze the information contained in the article under reference.  I want to know what you think of the impact of the information presented in this article.     Do not write a summary of the article itself.

In the assigned article “Darwin’s Rib” (located in the Chapter 2 resources on the course website), the author Robert Root-Bernstein mentions several observations about the number of ribs in men and women that support evolutionary theory and clarify the basis for the student’s initial answer to the research question.

1)    What is Larmarckian inheritance?  Explain why this mode of inheritance does not work, using an original example (one of your own, not from the article).

2)    What is Darwin’s explanation of inheritance by Natural Selection?  Refer to your textbook and/or the Chapter 2 power point presentation to help you synthesize this information.  Tell me YOUR understanding of this information.  DO NOT copy from the article, the textbook or the power points.

3)    What is a “sex-linked” trait?  Is inheritance of a specific number of pairs of human ribs a sex-linked trait?  Does understanding this scientific observation of inheritance contradict Creationist accounts of the first human parents?  How or why not?

4)    Briefly discuss the difference between scientific fact and faith-based belief in terms of observations and testable evidence.  Are these two approaches mutually incompatible (must we choose one or the other, not both) or can they work together to understand the web of life on our planet?

5)    Finish your essay with a brief conclusion about what you learned from this analysis.

REQUIREMENTS:

Your name, date and subject in the top left corner of your paper.  DO NOT put my name or the course name/number at the top of the page.

No title page, no abstract, no bibliography or source page.

Minimum one full page of text.   1½ – 2 pages is an appropriate length for this assignment.

Double-spaced, one-inch margins all around, typed in English, 12-point font.

Use grammar befitting of a college student who cares about her/his grade.  Spell-check and re-read your paper before submitting it to the drop box for this assignment on the course website.

Save and submit your paper as a Word doc or .docx or as .rtf or .pdf files.  Canvas does not accept work submitted in .pages or as Google Docs, Google Drive shared documents or as ZIP files.