Evolution in Action: Data Analysis

In this activity, students analyze and graph data taken from a population of Galápagos finches before and after a major drought. These data track the morphological traits of 100 medium ground finches (Geospiza fortis) living on the island of Daphne Major. 

There are two versions of the “Student Handout” for this activity, which can be customized based on your needs. In “Version 1,” students analyze the data by interpreting and constructing graphs, as well as calculating means and standard deviations. In “Version 2,” students calculate more advanced descriptive statistics (including 95% confidence intervals and the standard error of the mean), use error bars and a t test, and optionally do a linear regression.

The “Resource Google Folder” link directs to a Google Drive folder of resource documents in the Google Docs format. Not all downloadable documents for the resource may be available in this format. The Google Drive folder is set as “View Only”; to save a copy of a document in this folder to your Google Drive, open that document, then select File → “Make a copy.” These documents can be copied, modified, and distributed online following the Terms of Use listed in the “Details” section below, including crediting BioInteractive.