Why did the chicken cross the road?

It was the next step after coming down from the trees.

Evolution

Fifth Year biology students are currently studying one of the most interesting-and indeed one of the most controversial topics in Science-  The Theory of Evolution.

The Theory of Evolution is most associated with the famous English scientist Charles Darwin, who described it in his famous book of 1859: “On The Origin of Species”

You can read about Darwin’s life and discoveries here:

http://darwin200.christs.cam.ac.uk/pages/index.php?page_id=j

The theory states that there is a large genetic variation within every population of organisms. Population size stays constant as the organisms produce many offspring.

This then means that there is a lot of competition between the organisms for resources within their environment. Only the organisms best equipped to get these resources will survive in the long run...this is known famously as “Survival of the Fittest”

The better adapted organisms...e.g. the strongest and fittest animals will survive longer then, as they will secure more and better resources. The theory of Evolution states that these organisms or animals will outbreed the weaker organisms in the population. Therefore, they will produce more offspring who will share their parents’ stronger genetic makeup and characteristics. This means then that each new generation of organisms will become better adapted to their surrounding environment. This is also often referred to as the principle of “Natural Selection”

Darwin developed his ideas on Evolution after travelling around different parts of the world. On a voyage to the continent of South America, his observations led him to the hypothesis or theory that species change slowly over time or Evolve- to be better suited to their surroundings or Environment.

While travelling through the South American Grasslands or ‘Pampas’ he noticed a species of hare- (The Patagonian Hare) which was far better suited to its environment than the rabbit. He concluded that over time the Patagonian Hare had evolved differently to make better use of the resources such as the plants it ate for nutrition in its environment. (Indeed, the native Irish Hare is slightly different to Hares found elsewhere in Europe.)

Darwin believed further proof of his theory was to be found on the Galapagos Islands of the coast of South America. He noticed that tortoise species had long or short necks depending on how high the vegetation was on each of the islands. On islands where the plants the tortoise ate had high branches or stems, the tortoises had long necks, whereas the opposite applied on islands where the plants were not as tall; here the tortoises had smaller necks. An Adaption is a trait or characteristic that helps organisms (plants and animals) become more suited to their environments. Fitness is how successful an organism can keep reproducing.

The Theory of Evolution argues that Variations can exist within a species’ population. Some individuals within the species are better adapted so they can survive and reproduce. Extinctions occur when previous adaptions are no longer suitable for the species to survive in their environment. Can you think of any species or organisms that have become extinct?

Darwin examined other species, such as a bird called the Finch. Check the link below to read an article on how scientists who re-examined the Finch again recently explain why they can see new examples of evolution.

Darwin’s Theory was hugely controversial when he published it. Many people took Bible accounts of creation very literally, and thought his work was scandalous at the time.

When Darwin first told one of his friends about the idea he was working on he said it was like ‘confessing a murder’!

This was because many people were extremely angry with him because they believed that god had created all species of plants and animals and that they always stayed the same. 

Darwin’s ideas also meant that human beings were not special creatures; they had evolved too just like every other animal had. Darwin concluded in 1871 in another book “The Descent of Man” that humans had evolved from the Ape; this really annoyed and upset many people.

Read about reaction to his theories by clicking on the links below:

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/ucl-views/0809/orangutan

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/b103/f01/web3/ejelonu.html

Darwin went on to win many awards and prizes for his work. His ideas are central to modern biology and science. Even though there are people who still dislike his theories, it cannot be denied that he is still considered to be one of the most important scientists of our times.

Play the Evolution game here and see if you can help a species survive by adapting to their environment!

http://www.sciencechannel.com/games-and-interactives/charles-darwin-game/

Rome –The Eternal City

“All roads lead to Rome”

First Year students are currently studying about Rome in History class.

Rome is one of the most famous Ancient Civilisations.

It is believed that the foundations for Rome were laid at around 753 BC.

This means that Rome was one of the first cities to be built in human history. While people in Ireland at that time (The Celts) were living in huts and forts (Duns, Raths) the Romans were beginning to live in streets and houses.

Also, while many other people around the world at that time were swapping goods (bartering) the Romans were using money.

So, one of the main reasons why we study Rome as an important Ancient Civilisation is because many of the ordinary everyday things we take for granted were first used or invented by the Romans long before Christ was even born. The people of Rome were so successful that up until nearly 500AD their civilisation covered most of Europe-The Roman Empire.

(The Romans took over or conquered most of Europe, including Britain. But they never took over Ireland- referring to it as the ‘Wintry’ Island or Hibernia!)

We have many sources that tell us about life in Ancient Rome.

About 250 years ago, the village of Pompeii was excavated by archaeologists

Pompeii was near Rome, and had been built by the Ancient Romans. In 79AD a volcano called Vesuvius erupted and completely covered Pompeii in ash. When it was eventually excavated, archaeologists found perfectly preserved Roman artefacts that tell us about the lives Romans led.

Have a look at the links below to see some Roman artefacts.

https://www.pinterest.com/viziglar/ancient-pompeii-and-herculaneum-artifacts-ruins-an/ 

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2013/mar/26/pompeii-british-museum

We can thank the Romans for inventing and developing so many things that we take for granted nowadays.

Things such as: Houses (called a Domus or Villa by the Romans), Streets, Roads, Stadiums (like the Coliseum in Rome where activities such as Gladiator and animal fighting took place), Running Water, Baths, Sewers, Concrete, Medicine, Central Heating and Arches. Even a lot of our modern calendar was developed by the Romans.

The language used by the Romans was called Latin, and even today many words in languages like English and French come from word first used in Latin by the Romans.

Click on these links to examine Roman inventions in detail

http://www.knowtheromans.co.uk/Categories/SubCatagories/Inventions/

http://rome.mrdonn.org/achievements.html  

For centuries the Romans were pagans and prayed to many different Gods. Jupiter was considered the main God; but depending on what help an ancient Roman needed he could pray to the God of Love (Venus), the God of War (Mars) or even the God of Wine (Bacchus)

For a list of Roman Gods and Goddesses see this link below:

http://www.roman-empire.net/children/gods.html

Christianity started becoming a major religion not long after the crucifixion of Christ. The Romans treated Christians very cruelly at first. Christians were often tortured, crucified or even thrown to the lions in the Coliseum. But around 325AD the Emperor Constantine adopted Christianity as the official Roman religion, and so Christianity spread all across Europe throughout the Roman Empire.

The Romans had a very successful army, which was why they controlled most of Europe for centuries. The link below shows how the Roman Empire grew through the centuries:

http://resourcesforhistory.com/map.htm

To see how the Roman Army worked and what type of life its soldiers had, click here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/romans/the_roman_army/

Life in Rome could be very pleasant if you were a free person, especially a member of the ‘Patrician’ upper classes. Working people such as tradesmen were referred to as the ‘Plebeians’’. Many of the tougher or manual jobs however, were done by slaves who often had a very tough existence.

For more details on the Roman social classes have a read here:

http://rome.mrdonn.org/plebs.html

Rome at first was ruled by Kings. Then Romans began to introduce some democracy, where free citizens could vote for the people who made decisions. But eventually Rome moved to a system where one man, or an Emperor, was in complete charge. Some of these Emperors were impressive rulers; others though could be very strange! Read about Roman rulers and emperors here:

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/how_was_rome_governed.htm

http://www.ducksters.com/history/ancient_rome_emperors.php

Entertainment in Ancient Rome was provided by theatres, spectacular events at the Coliseum and chariot racing at the Circus Maximus. You can learn more about how the Ancient Romans amused themselves by reading this site:

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/roman_entertainment.htm

Like all Empires, the Roman Empire eventually disappeared. But Rome, the world’s first city or metropolis, created an Empire that lasted for over a thousand years. Today Rome is the capital of Italy. And even though Roman Ancient Civilisation may be long gone; it is still certainly worth studying today, as we owe so much of our modern way of life to the skills and talents of the Ancient Romans.

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“All right... all right... but apart from better sanitation and medicine and education and irrigation and public health and roads and a freshwater system and baths and public order... what have the Romans done for us?”

“Life of Brian” Monty Python

The Reformation

Second Years are currently learning about one of the most important historical events to affect Ireland, Europe, and indeed the whole world.

It is called The Reformation, and it happened in Germany about 500 years ago.

500 years ago everybody in Europe was a Christian. After Jesus died, the Christian Church moved its headquarters to Rome in Italy.

As students know from Religion class, the head of the Church is the Pope, who lives in the Vatican in Rome.

Jesus had chosen the Apostle Peter as the first Pope. Every time a new Pope died, a new Pope was then elected.

However, as time went by some Christians got annoyed with the Pope and the church. They felt that the Popes were living lives of luxury, far removed from the poor lifestyle that Jesus had.

Some complained about Simony; the selling of prayers by the church for sums of money.

Others gave out about Nepotism: 500 years ago many of the best jobs or positions were in the church. Nepotism is when jobs are given to friends and family without giving others a chance to apply for the job.

Absenteeism was also a problem; sometimes Priests couldn't be bothered to turn up to say Mass.

Pluralism too upset many; this was when people in the church were claiming money for doing two or more jobs. (A useful way to remember these abuses is 'SNAP')

Around this time people were reading more thanks to the invention of the Printing Press. They were now reading leaflets that were being passed around containing information about the problems in the church.

One man who was very annoyed about all this was a German monk called Martin Luther. In 1517 he listed 95 grievances against the Church and nailed them to the door of a church in Wittenburg in Germany.

The Pope was very cross and excommunicated him. (Cut him off from the Church) However, many people agreed with his criticisms and joined his protest against the Catholic Church. As they were ‘Protesting’ they set up their own churches. They became known as Protestants.

Protestants believed in Jesus Christ but did not accept the authority of the Pope. Protestants also disagreed with the Pope and other Protestants about other issues, such as which sacraments were important. People who stayed loyal to the Pope were known as Catholics.

Now, there were Catholic Christians and Protestant Christians. Even though the Catholic Church had a ‘Counter Reformation’ to try and stop the abuses in their Church, the Protestant movement spread from Germany to Scandinavia and then to Ireland and Britain.

Ireland at that time was ruled by Britain. At first, Henry the Eight, the King hated the idea of Protestantism. But when the Pope refused him a divorce, Henry split from the Pope and set up his own Protestant Church, the Anglican Church. (In England it was called the Church of England; in Ireland it was called the Church of Ireland).

Most Irish people stayed Catholic however while most of Britain became Protestant. This was to cause trouble for centuries as the British felt they could never really trust the Catholic Irish.

In Europe, France, Spain and Italy stayed Catholic, but most of Germany and Scandinavia went Protestant. Many wars broke out over Europe because of the differences in religion.

The British later feared that the Catholic Irish would join with Catholic France and Spain to attack Britain. So they ‘Planted’ parts of Ireland (especially Ulster) with people from Britain who were Protestant. These people or Planters were to keep Ireland safe from Catholic invasion. But the Plantations led to fighting and violence between Catholics and Protestants for centuries, right up to the recent ‘Troubles’.

The Reformation, like the Renaissance changed Europe, Ireland and the World completely. It was a fascinating time, and its effects are still felt today.

You can study more about the Reformation using these resources below:

http://www.history.com/topics/reformation

http://www.skoool.ie/skoool/examcentre_jc.asp?id=1842

http://juniorcertificatehistory.blogspot.ie/2011/11/reformation.html