Naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck promoted the theory of inheritance of acquired characteristics." This
theory stated that changes developed over the course of the life of an organism would be transmitted to the
next generation. A famous example involves a blacksmith. Working with heavy hammers, pounding iron all
day, blacksmiths developed larger arms than average men. This trait, large and muscular arms, would then be
passed down to the children of the blacksmith.
Charles Darwin developed a competing theory based on variation and a process he called "natural selection."
His theory stressed how the differences among the individuals in a population would lead to different rates of
survival and reproduction. Through this process, in conjunction with what he called a "strong principle of
inheritance,' entire populations could adapt, and ultimately, evolve.
DNA and its structure was not isolated and understood until the mid 1900s. It serves as
Select one:
a. the mechanism by which the "inheritance of acquired characteristics' operates
b. an example of how the blacksmiths arms grow as large as they do.
c. the mechanism through which population evolution operates.
d. the mechanism by which the 'strong principle of inheritance' operates,
Check