Had Darwin been aware of Mendel's work, would he be able to explain the origin of variations? Discuss.
Mendel observed reproduction in pea plants to come up with his theories on variations. Through these experiments, Mendel could attribute the origin of variations to some factors.
Darwin was from the same era as Mendel and would have had access to the same technology and information as Mendel had. Darwin was out on an exploration, and it would not have been possible to conduct an experiment similar to the one conducted by Mendel. The goals and focus of their experiments were quite different from each other. Because of these factors, it seems highly unlikely that Darwin would have been able to explain the origin of variations.