Evolution (biology)

Evolution is how animals and plants change over a long time. It happens because living things can have babies, and sometimes those babies look a little different than their parents. These differences can be helpful or not helpful, and over time, the helpful differences can become more common.

For example, let's say there is a group of birds that live on an island. Some of the birds have shorter beaks and some have longer beaks. The birds with longer beaks are better at getting food from deep flowers, so they are more likely to have babies with longer beaks. Eventually, most of the birds on the island will have longer beaks.

This process happens over millions of years, and that's why animals and plants today look different than they used to. Some animals have changed a lot, like dinosaurs turning into birds, and some have changed only a little, like humans growing taller over time.