Skeletal Evidence and Your Hypothesis

Journal Entry 4

Skeletal Evidence and Your Hypothesis

HOW DO THE DATA AFFECT YOUR HYPOTHESIS?

(Yes, that's grammatically correct. "Data" is the plural; one bit of information is a "datum".)

Now that you've seen some skeletal evidence, does it support or falsify your hypothesis? If it supports your hypothesis, tell how. If it falsifies your hypothesis, tell how, and tell how you would have to revise your hypothesis to fit the evidence.

Before you do this journal entry, be sure to read over all the homology/analogy assignments and all of the skeleton assignments

Having done that, you know quite a bit about skeletal homologies and analogies. Using the ones we've discussed in assignments, and others, you should think about your hypothesis again.

Look at your hypothesis 2 diagram. Consider the examples of homology that we've seen in skeletons. Do these examplessupport your hypothesis? Falsify your hypothesis? Give no conclusive evidence? Require you to change your hypothesis? Refer to the Scientific method for how to use evidence to test hypotheses.

If the evidence falsifies part of your hypothesis, then you must explain how your hypothesis will be revised to be consistent with the data.

What you're going to do is write an entry in your journal in which you relate the evidence of skeletal anatomy to your hypothesis.

1.Bat and Macaque manus homology: Explain how the homology supports or falsifies your Hypothesis 2 drawing. If it falsifies it, then explain how your hypothesis will be revised to be consistent with the evidence.

2.Cat and Macaque clavicle homology: Explain how the homology supports or falsifies your Hypothesis 2 drawing. If it falsifies it, then explain how your hypothesis will be revised to be consistent with the evidence.

3.Pigeon, Human, and Bison radius and ulna homologies:Explain how these homologies support or falsify your Hypothesis 2 drawing. If the homologies falsify it, then explain how your hypothesis will be revised to be consistent with the evidence.

4.Human and Cat skeletal similarities: (We did not make explicit comparisons to determine homologies. However, the similarities in skeletal structures were striking.) Explain how these similarities are consistent with or inconsistent with your Hypothesis 2 drawing. It the similarities are not consistent with your drawn hypothesis, then explain how your hypothesis will be revised.

This journal entry will require some writing, as you need to explain the effect of each skeletal comparison on your hypothesis. It isn't really that hard, though. Use your Hypothesis 2 drawing and look at how the organisms are connected/related (or not).