Can any one sum up the theory of evolution in 100 words?

Question

Can any one sum up the theory of evolution in 100 words?

Answer 1

simple the theory is a single cell was here first after millions of yrs the earth froze over the cells to keep on going adapted and made changes this begins the tree of life a few more million yrs the earth froze over again making way for more changes like mamuals which one day we would become their offspring so in short the tree will always lead back to the single cell organisims they just made changes as the earth changed  

Answer 2

Alexei's summary is pretty good ...

... except for the statement "Darwin's general theory presumes the development of life from non-life "

There is nothing in Darwin's theory that presumes the development of life from non-life.

Here would be my summary:

Evolution is the change in the inherited traits of a population over time.   In nature, evolution is driven by natural selection, the simple observation that *on average*, traits that provide some advantage to individuals of a species or population, will be passed on to more descendants in the next generation.

[That's exactly 50 words.]

Answer 3

Evolution is the gradual process of constant change in the inherited traits of a population of living organisms from one generation to the next.

There are two major mechanisms driving evolution which are:

Natural selection- A process causing heritable traits that are helpful for survival and reproduction to become more common in a population, and harmful traits to become more rare.

Genetic drift- An independent process that produces random changes in the frequency of traits in a population. Genetic drift results from the role probability plays in whether a given trait will be passed on as individuals survive and reproduce.

Answer 4

Allele frequencies in populations change over time.

(Whew!  I got it in seven words.)

Edit:  Go with Secretsauce's.  His is better than mine (and I am eating my heart out).

Answer 5

Penguins thrive in Antarctica, they would die immediately in the African savannah's.  

Likewise, a lion would die instantly in the Antarctic.

Selective pressure of the environment, selects for those traits that ensure survivability.  This 'natural selection' applied over the scope of geological time, is the engine driving evolution.  

On a shorter time scale, we see this happen all the time with microorganisms which adapt to antibiotics and become resistant.

Answer 6

Darwin's Theory of Evolution is the widely held notion that all life is related and has descended from a common ancestor: the birds and the bananas, the fishes and the flowers -- all related. Darwin's general theory presumes the development of life from non-life and stresses a purely naturalistic (undirected) "descent with modification". That is, complex creatures evolve from more simplistic ancestors naturally over time. In a nutshell, as random genetic mutations occur within an organism's genetic code, the beneficial mutations are preserved because they aid survival -- a process known as "natural selection." These beneficial mutations are passed on to the next generation. Over time, beneficial mutations accumulate and the result is an entirely different organism (not just a variation of the original, but an entirely different creature).

this is about 130 words.. I'm sure that you can cut it down