Essay on the Principle of Population,written by Thomas Malthus in 1798,influenced Darwin's thoughts as he struggled to understand what mechanisms could be at work to produce evolution.Malthus proposed that populations of animals and plants,including humans,
A)increased arithmetically in numbers while the nutrients available only increased geometrically.
B)increased geometrically in numbers while the nutrients available only increased arithmetically.
C)decreased arithmetically in numbers while the nutrients available increased geometrically.
D)increased geometrically in numbers while the nutrients available increased arithmetically.
E)evolved from mainland to islands,thus explaining why the island flora and fauna resembled the mainland species so closely.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to Malthus, populations increase geometrically (exponentially) while the resources available to support them only increase arithmetically (linearly). This creates a struggle for existence, where individuals must compete for limited resources, leading to natural selection and evolution. Darwin was influenced by this idea and incorporated it into his theory of evolution by natural selection.