Evolution is the changes in inherited traits of a population from generation to generation. Mutation in these genes can produce new and altered traits ,resulting in hereditary changes in organisms.
Heredity - This is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring either through sexual reproduction or asexual reproduction.
Now, this process would not lead to any interesting results (and in turn, the astonishing variety of life on earth), if this process was 100% accurate or faithful. So, even though traits are transferred from parents to their off-springs, the traits are usually marginally altered.
This gives rise to off-springs who are like their parents but with very minor changes. These changes could either be a) beneficial b) harmful (deleterious) or c) neutral.
Harmful changes cause the organism to perish before it can pass on these changes to the next generation. Sometimes a trait that existed in the earlier might become deleterious due to a change in the environment and thus, undergo the process of elimination from the population.
Beneficial changes help the organism to adapt better to its surroundings and live longer and have more off-springs such that these changes are spread to more and more organisms in the population and are eventually get fixed.
The offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic information of their parents through a mechanism known as inheritance.
The inherited traits undergo modification.
Through hereditary, variations between individuals can accumulate and cause species to undergo evolution by natural selection.
This is made possible by :
1.) Inheritance of acquired traits.
2.) Modification of inherited traits.
This will cause species to evolve.