Table 1 Results referring to the first three sections of the questionnaire (in percentages)
From: Knowledge of evolution and human diversity: a study among high school students of Rome, Italy
Question | Correct | Wrong | No reply |
|---|---|---|---|
Section 1. Age of the Earth and evolution of species | |||
For how many years has the Earth existed? | 86.6 | 9.8 | 3.6 |
What does ‘biodiversity’ mean? | 96.5 | 3.1 | 0.4 |
Were there species that lived in the past but which are now extinct? | 93.7 | 4.7 | 1.6 |
Have living forms always been as they are now | 96.5 | 3.1 | 0.4 |
Are there species living today which did not exist in the past | 93.7 | 4.7 | 1.6 |
Can environment conditions undergo profound changes over long periods of time? | 96.5 | 2.4 | 1.1 |
Section 2. Evolution of Homo sapiens | |||
How many years ago did Homo sapiens appear | 33.0 | 53.5 | 13.5 |
Where did Homo sapiens first appear? | 69.9 | 24.1 | 6.0 |
Did physical characteristics of Homo sapiens change since it began to migrate into different environments? | 95.0 | 3.4 | 1.6 |
Is there fossil evidence documenting the places and times of the appearance of Homo sapiens? | 94.2 | 2.9 | 2.9 |
Does it make sense to speak | 29.8 | 70.2 | 0.0 |
Section 3. Human diversity | Yes | No | |
Did intellectual superiority contribute to the success of the great civilizations? | 57.1 | 42.9 | |
Did intellectual superiority contribute to scientific- technological progress? | 65.9 | 34.1 | |
Does intellectual superiority exist? | 7.4 | 92.6 | |
Does human diversity depend on biological and/or cultural factors? | 44.2 | 55.8 | |
Do you positively value contact between different cultures? | 92.6 | 7.4 | |
Has scientific progress helped to improve contacts between cultures? | 97.0 | 3.0 |