GCSE Biology (AQA)

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Lamarck's Theory

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Inheritance, Variation and Evolution The Development of Understanding of Gentics and Evolution

Lamarck's Theory

1:35 Theories of Evolution and Speciation
Spec 4.6.3.1
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  • Jean Baptist Lamar was a French biologist whose work influenced Darwin.
  • Lamar lived from 1744 to 1829.
  • His ideas, rather than his life dates, are important for understanding his influence on Darwin.
  • Lamar originated the idea that animals adapt and evolve to suit their environment.
  • He believed that features used frequently or found useful developed over time.
  • Lamar thought that acquired characteristics, like increased muscle mass from lifting weights, could be passed to offspring.
  • He used the example of giraffes, theorizing that their necks got longer from stretching to reach leaves and that this trait was passed to their offspring.
  • Modern science, through experimentation and the development of gene theory, has largely disproven Lamar's ideas about inheritance.

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