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Table 1 Results of an informal survey of 306 freshmen biology course students who were asked to define the word “evolution”

From: “Little Monkeys on the Grass…” How People for and Against Evolution Fail to Understand the Theory of Evolution

Category of definition of evolution

Percent of all students

Percent of students agreed

Percent of students disagreed

Percent of students both agreed/disagreed

Organisms adapt themselves to changing environments

41.8

92.9

7.1

0

Organisms change from simple to complex

13.1

80.0

20.0

0

Process that occurs over a long period of time

15.1

91.3

8.7

0

The change from apes to humans

7.2

59.1

40.9

0

“Other” answers

17.6

63.0

29.6

7.4

“Correct” definition

5.2

81.2

6.3

12.5

  1. Six categories of answers and the percentages of students who provided those answers are shown in column one. The percentages of students who agreed or disagreed with their own statements are shown in the subsequent columns