charles darwin voyage of the beagle worksheet

HMS Beagle: Darwin’s Trip around the World

Charles Darwin sailed around the world from 1831–1836 as a naturalist aboard the HMS Beagle . His experiences and observations helped him develop the theory of evolution through natural selection.

Biology, Geography, Earth Science, Geology, Ecology

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Charles Darwin set sail on the ship HMS Beagle on December 27, 1831, from Plymouth, England. Darwin was 22 years old when he was hired to be the ship’s naturalist . Most of the trip was spent sailing around South America. There Darwin spent considerable time ashore collecting plants and animals. Darwin filled notebooks with his observations of plants, animals, and geology . The trip was an almost five-year adventure and the ship returned to Falmouth, England, on October 2, 1836.

Throughout South America, Darwin collected a variety of bird specimens . One key observation Darwin made occurred while he was studying the specimens from the Galapagos Islands. He noticed the finches on the island were similar to the finches from the mainland, but each showed certain characteristics that helped them to gather food more easily in their specific habitat. He collected many specimens of the finches on the Galapagos Islands. These specimens and his notebooks provided Darwin with a record of his observations as he developed the theory of evolution through natural selection .

Have students work in pairs to use the map and the resources in the explore more tab to create a social media feed that includes five dates and posts from the expedition. Students may need to conduct additional research to ensure their proposed posts are factual and something Darwin would have seen on the trip. Help students brainstorm ideas for their posts by asking: What types of animals would Darwin have seen? Are any of them extinct today? What types of plants did he note? What types of geology did he see? What would you imagine some of the hardships the explorers would have encountered on this voyage?

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5.13: Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle

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What's that big red pouch?

The Frigate bird of the Galápagos Islands. This bird can be found throughout the tropical Atlantic down to the Galápagos Islands and Ecuador, but not in Europe or South America, so Darwin may never have come across one until he landed on the Galápagos. Such a unique creature was bound to make a naturalist such as Darwin wonder why. Why do they look the way they do? What's that big red pouch? What are the advantages?

Darwin’s Theory

The Englishman Charles Darwin is one of the most famous scientists who ever lived. His place in the history of science is well deserved. Darwin’s theory of evolution represents a giant leap in human understanding. It explains and unifies all of biology.

An overview of evolution can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcjgWov7mTM (17:39).

As you view Introduction to Evolution and Natural Selection, focus on the following concepts: the meaning of "evolution," the relationship between evolution and natural selection, the relationship between natural selection and variation, the evolution of the peppered moth.

Darwin’s theory of evolution actually contains two major ideas:

• One idea is that evolution occurs. In other words, organisms change over time. Life on Earth has changed as descendants diverged from common ancestors in the past.
• The other idea is that evolution occurs by natural selection . Natural selection is the process that results in living things with beneficial traits producing more offspring than others. This results in changes in the traits of living things over time.

In Darwin’s day, most people believed that all species were created at the same time and remained unchanged thereafter. They also believed that Earth was only about 6,000 years old. Therefore, Darwin’s ideas revolutionized biology. How did Darwin come up with these important ideas? It all started when he went on a voyage.

The Voyage of the Beagle

In 1831, when Darwin was just 22 years old, he set sail on a scientific expedition on a ship called the HMS Beagle . He was the naturalist on the voyage. As a naturalist, it was his job to observe and collect specimens of plants, animals, rocks, and fossils wherever the expedition went ashore. The route the ship took and the stops they made are shown in the Figure below . You can learn more about Darwin’s voyage at this link:www.aboutdarwin.com/voyage/voyage03.html.

Voyage of the Beagle . This map shows the route of Darwin’s 5-year voyage on the HMS Beagle . Each stop along the way is labeled. Darwin and the others on board eventually circled the globe.

Darwin was fascinated by nature, so he loved his job on the Beagle . He spent more than 3 years of the 5-year trip exploring nature on distant continents and islands. While he was away, a former teacher published Darwin’s accounts of his observations. By the time Darwin finally returned to England, he had become famous as a naturalist.

Darwin’s Observations

During the long voyage, Darwin made many observations that helped him form his theory of evolution. For example:

• He visited tropical rainforests and other new habitats where he saw many plants and animals he had never seen before (see Figure below ). This impressed him with the great diversity of life.
• He experienced an earthquake that lifted the ocean floor 2.7 meters (9 feet) above sea level. He also found rocks containing fossil sea shells in mountains high above sea level. These observations suggested that continents and oceans had changed dramatically over time and continue to change in dramatic ways.
• He visited rock ledges that had clearly once been beaches that had gradually built up over time. This suggested that slow, steady processes also change Earth’s surface.
• He dug up fossils of gigantic extinct mammals, such as the ground sloth (see Figure below ). This was hard evidence that organisms looked very different in the past. It suggested that living things—like Earth’s surface—change over time.

On his voyage, Darwin saw giant marine iguanas and blue-footed boobies. He also dug up the fossil skeleton of a giant ground sloth like the one shown here. From left: Giant Marine Iguana, Blue-Footed Boobies, and Fossil Skeleton of a Giant Ground Sloth

The Galápagos Islands

Darwin’s most important observations were made on the Galápagos Islands (see map in Figure below ). This is a group of 16 small volcanic islands 966 kilometers (600 miles) off the west coast of Ecuador, South America.

Galápagos Islands. This map shows the location of the Galápagos Islands that Darwin visited on his voyage.

Individual Galápagos islands differ from one another in important ways. Some are rocky and dry. Others have better soil and more rainfall. Darwin noticed that the plants and animals on the different islands also differed. For example, the giant tortoises on one island had saddle-shaped shells, while those on another island had dome-shaped shells (see Figure below ). People who lived on the islands could even tell the island a turtle came from by its shell. This started Darwin thinking about the origin of species. He wondered how each island came to have its own type of tortoise.

Galápagos Tortoises. Galápagos tortoises have differently shaped shells depending on which island they inhabit. Tortoises with saddle-shaped shells can reach up to eat plant leaves above their head. Tortoises with dome-shaped shells cannot reach up in this way. These two types of tortoises live on islands with different environments and food sources. How might this explain the differences in their shells?

The Farallon Islands – "California's Galapagos"

One of the most productive marine food webs on the planet is located on the Farallon Islands, just 28 miles off the San Francisco, California coast. These islands also host the largest seabird breeding colony in the continental United States, with over 300,000 breeding seabirds. The islands are known as the Galapagos of California. Why? Find out at http://science.kqed.org/quest/video/...ias-galapagos/ .

• Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection states that living things with beneficial traits produce more offspring than others do. This produces changes in the traits of living things over time.
• During his voyage on the Beagle , Darwin made many observations that helped him develop his theory of evolution.
• Darwin's most important observations were made on the Galápagos Islands.

Explore More

Use this resource to answer the questions that follow.

• Beagle Voyage at http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/s...beagle-voyage/ .
• Describe Darwin's role on the Beagle.
• Salvador, Brazil,
• Punta Alta, Argentina,
• Chiloe Island, Chile,
• Galapagos Islands,
• Sydney, Australia.
• State the two main ideas in Darwin's theory.
• What was Darwin's role on the Beagle?
• Describe two observations Darwin made on his voyage on the Beagle that helped him develop his theory of evolution.
• Why did Darwin’s observations of Galápagos tortoises cause him to wonder how species originate?

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Beagle Voyage of Charles Darwin Complete lesson KS2

Subject: Primary science

Age range: 7-11

Resource type: Lesson (complete)

Last updated

3 November 2022

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A complete lesson with the LO: to understand Darwin’s voyage on HMS Beagle.

During the lesson, students will map the voyage and key events on each stop of the journey.

All resources are included, although internet access may be required for the higher attainers to research additional information, using the Beagle diaries (Link included in the resources)

All other images from Pixabay or authors own.

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Charles Darwin Facts & Worksheets

Charles darwin facts and information plus worksheet packs and fact file. includes 5 activities aimed at students 11-14 years old (ks3) & 5 activities aimed at students 14-16 years old (gcse). great for home study or to use within the classroom environment., download charles darwin worksheets.

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Early Life and Education

Voyage of the beagle, evolution by natural selection, personal life, key facts and information, let’s know more about charles darwin.

Charles Robert Darwin was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist who developed the theory of evolution through the process of natural selection. His theory that all living things originated from common ancestors is now generally recognised and regarded as a fundamental scientific concept. As the most prominent proponent of this idea, Darwin holds a unique place in history. While he lived a fairly quiet and studious life, his works were controversial in their day and still routinely spark controversy.

• Charles Robert Darwin was born on 12 February 1809 in Shrewsbury, England, to a wealthy family. He was the fifth of six children. His grandfather was Erasmus Darwin, a successful doctor, and scientist who had previously made substantial contributions to evolutionary science. Robert Darwin, his father, was also a doctor and had amassed a fortune by wisely investing the proceeds from his medical practice. Susannah Wedgwood, a member of the famous pottery family, was Charles’ mother. She died when Charles was eight years old. He then enrolled in a primary school.
• Charles was sent to Shrewsbury School, approximately a mile from his family’s house, when he was nine years old.  He boarded there and returned home frequently to keep up with his family’s activities.  Charles despised the typical classical curriculum of his boarding school, which focused on Ancient Greek and Latin. He wasn’t thought to be particularly intelligent.  His ability to communicate in a foreign language was limited. His education mainly consisted of memorising lines from Roman or Greek literature for the next day. 
• Even though he despised it, he was content to put in long hours. He memorised his lines in detail, only to forget them all as soon as class was done.  He liked hunting and lengthy hikes in the woods, studying and collecting natural objects. 
• His brother set up a chemical lab in the garden tool shed, and Charles volunteered to help with experiments, often late at night. His favourite subject was chemistry. Regrettably, it was not included in his school’s curriculum. In fact, his headmaster scolded him for ‘wasting his time’ on chemistry. 
• Charles enrolled at the University of Edinburgh as a medical student in 1825, at the age of 16.  Charles, unlike his father, did not like medical school. He chose not to worry about completing his exams since he was confident that his father would provide him with enough money to live comfortably.
• Charles got interested in zoology in his second year at Edinburgh, and he began collecting and dissecting marine species. He also went to geology courses, although he considered them to be quite dull. Charles’ medical studies were put on hold by his irritated father. He withdrew his son from Edinburgh and sent him to Cambridge University, hoping that his lazy son would become a Church of England clergyman. 
• Charles Darwin started at the University of Cambridge to study for a Bachelor of Arts degree in early 1828, just before his 20th birthday. After three easy years, he obtained his BA with grades that put him towards the top of the class. He’d spent a lot of time hunting, eating, drinking and playing cards, which he genuinely liked.
• Darwin was offered a position as a naturalist on HMS Beagle , one of the British Royal Navy survey ships, at the end of summer 1831, after completing his degree. The job had been offered to John Henslow, a Cambridge geologist and naturalist, but he had declined and suggested Darwin instead. 

• While sailing south from the British Isles, the Beagle’s first stop was at the volcanic Cape Verde Islands, west of Africa. Darwin discovered seashells on the cliffs nearby. The captain of the Beagle , a naturalist, assisted Darwin in explaining the finding by providing him with a copy of Charles Lyell’s Principles of Geology . 
• Principles of Geology described uniformitarian notions in geology, such as James Hutton’s gradualism hypothesis, which was initially suggested late in the previous century. Charles Lyell, the book’s author, would become one of Darwin’s closest friends and supporters a few years later. 
• Darwin kept writing about his adventures in each new location he visited, collecting samples of flora, animals and fossils, and analysing geological formations. On the Galapagos Islands, he witnessed a wide range of strange and unique creatures. Each island seems to have its own unique species of wildlife. 
• In October 1836, Darwin returned to England.  He had maintained contact with John Henslow, giving him notes on his geological work on the trip on a regular basis. 
• He compiled his observations into a 31-page pamphlet, which he disseminated widely across Cambridge’s scientific community.  Henslow also exhibited Darwin’s fossils, which sparked even more interest. 
• His father was relieved that his prediction that Charles would bring the family into disgrace had proven to be wrong. In the field of natural science, Charles Darwin was now admired, and his father consented to continue sponsoring his research. In reality, other people saw the worth in Darwin’s work, and the British government gave him a large grant to write up his observations from the Beagle’s expedition. 
• Despite the fact that Darwin set sail as an unknown graduate, he returned as a renowned and well-known scientist. He also amassed a big and intriguing collection of specimens, which naturalists were eager to study and classify.
• Darwin discovered that the continent of South America is gradually rising from the sea. Darwin presented this paper to the Geological Society of London at the beginning of 1837, thanks to Charles Lyell, whose geology book influenced Darwin on the voyage.
• Darwin also exhibited specimens of birds he had gathered from the Galapagos Islands at the same meeting. Within a week, naturalist John Gould had inspected the specimens and determined that the birds belonged to a whole new species of finch. Twelve new bird species and a new finch group were discovered by Darwin.
• On his long voyage, at times fascinated by nature’s abundance, Darwin’s thoughts had increasingly turned to the question of how different species had formed. Thousands of years before Darwin’s time, the notion of evolution had been developed. Erasmus Darwin, his grandfather, had made several significant contributions to evolutionary theory, including the concept of a common origin for all life.
• By December 1838, Darwin had pondered how breeders could enhance domestic animals by choosing the best individuals. In the natural world, the environment does the selection. Natural selection ensures that the lifeforms that are most adapted to their surroundings survive and reproduce.
• He presented his opinions on the new species of finches he discovered in the Galapagos Islands in 1845, claiming he could imagine that one original species had been modified into all the numerous species that he had developed much earlier. 
• gathering and weighing evidence from his journey, as well as evaluating specimens; 
• breeding animals and plants to see how artificial selection may change species; and 
• writing books and papers about a variety of topics including geology.
• On 24 November 1859, Charles Darwin’s game-changing book On the Origin of Species – generally referred to as the most important book in the history of biology – was released to the public, and all 1250 copies were quickly sold. 
• Darwin avoided making any claims for the origin of a specific species, such as Homo sapiens, in order to avoid dispute. He did however, in agreement with his grandfather’s much earlier theory, write: “...probably all the organic beings which have ever lived on this earth have descended from some one primordial form, into which life was first breathed”. 

Darwin continued to update the book throughout the years. He went on to write six distinct editions of the book. Some of Darwin’s most well-known concepts did not emerge until subsequent editions: the famous term ‘survival of the fittest’ only appeared in the 1869 fifth edition. Remarkably, the term ‘evolution’ first appeared in the sixth edition of the book in 1872.

• On 29 January 1839, Darwin married Emma Wedgwood. He was 29 years old, and she was 30. They were first cousins. The couple had ten children, three of which died in childhood. George, Francis and Horace, three of their sons, were prominent scientists and were elected fellows of the Royal Society. George went on to study astronomy, Francis botany, and Horace engineering. Leonard, another son, helped to fund the publishing of Ronald Fisher’s first book.
• Darwin became unwell in 1837, just as he began working on a multi-volume collection of findings from the Beagle trip and began actively exploring species transmutation. He would be plagued by ill health for the rest of his life. 
• In 1842, he and his family relocated to a country residence outside of London, away from the pollution and smog. He led a solitary existence, rarely mingling and instead focusing on his family and publishing books and scholarly articles. Darwin received the Copley Medal, the highest award in science at the time, in 1864.
• Charles Darwin died of heart failure at his country house on 19 April 1882, at the age of 73. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, London, alongside his best friend Charles Lyell, whose work had impacted him considerably, and next to John Herschel, whose work had inspired him at university. Isaac Newton, Ernest Rutherford, JJ Thomson and Lord Kelvin are among the scientists buried near Darwin in Westminster Abbey.

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