I describe a quantitative approach to three case studies in evolution that can be used to challenge college freshmen to explore the power of natural selection and ask questions that foster a deeper understanding of its operation and relevance. Hemochromatosis, the peppered moth, and hominid cranial capacity are investigated with a common algebraic…

Describes scope, methods, and history of evolutionary biology. Illustrates the application of new mathematical treatments to problems of speciation, homology and ecology. Urges biologists to become familiar with these methods and to adopt a mathematical approach in teaching, arguing that much ecology taught today is irrelevant to theories now…