Benchmark 10H
Historical Perspectives: Explaining the Diversity of Life
Grades 9-12, page 255

Darwin argued that only biologically inherited characteristics could be passed on to offspring. Some of these characteristics were advantageous in surviving and reproducing. The offspring would also inherit and pass on those advantages, and over generations the aggregation of these inherited advantages would lead to a new species.
 

See Content Standard G History and Nature of Science (grades 9-12): Historical Perspectives