Summary of the movie (Star Tribune): Species collide once again in “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.” The movie takes place 10 years after a virus wiped out most of the
human race and chimpanzees took over the planet.
You will be required to write an essay about the movie and how the content relates to this class. In the first section of the course you learned about evolution,
evolutionary theory, and genetics. In the second section of the course, you will be learning about primates, particularly apes. You will learn about their social
structure, taxonomy, physical traits, derived traits, mating strategies and conservation status and current conservation strategies. In the third section, you will be
learning about hominid evolution, human variation and biological adaptations. You MUST use biological terms in your 1-page typed essay and underline the terms (i.e.
natural selection, evolution, mutation, genes, DNA, selection, reproductive advantage, common ancestor, species, sub-speciesextant, extinct, primates, reproductive
strategies, empathy, compassion, aggressive, dominance hierarchy, political leader, male alliances, male patrols, mother-infant love, con-specifics, K-selected,
immunity, dominant inheritance, recessive inheritance, bipedalism, interbreeding, inbreeding, genomes, mtDNA studies and findings, biological adaptations, etc.)
- Provide a short synopsis of the premise of the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. (Approximately one paragraph – single-spaced)
- Address the following questions: (double-space) (Body of essay)
• Is chimpanzee behavior correctly depicted? – explain. Provide “3” behaviors observed naturally in the wild.
• Is chimpanzee behavior incorrectly depicted? – explain. Provide “3” behaviors observed in the movie that are notnaturally observed in the wild.
• How is it possible for some humans to survive the virus? How is it possible that chimpanzees are able to not develop the virus, move upright, talk, etc.?
- Do you think it is possible for chimpanzees (or other animals/or robots!) to take over humans in the future? Explain. (Conclusion)
Sample Solution
