Adaption and evolution

Question 1

How have desert animals adapted?

Answer 1

Large surface area to lose heat
Concentrated urine, little sweat
Camels store fat to have water in the desert
Large feet to spread their weight over sand

Question 2

How have arctic animals adapted?

Answer 2

Small surface area to conserve heat
Thick fur
Large feet to spread on the ice

Question 3

How have cacti adapted to the desert?

Answer 3

Spines instead of leaves to reduce water loss
Stores water in thick stems
Shallow but matted roots to absorb things quickly

Question 4

Give an example of a physical and chemical defence for a plant

Answer 4

Thorns for physical

Poisons for chemical

Question 5

What is classification?

Answer 5

Organising living organisms into groups (depending on genetic material)

Question 6

What are the subcategories in a kingdom? (Eg animal kingdom)

Answer 6

A genus

A species

Question 7

What is a Genus?

Answer 7

a group of closely-related organisms

Question 8

What is a species?

Answer 8

A group of closely related organisms that can breed with each other

Question 9

What defines a plant and animal?

Answer 9

Plants have chloroplasts and produce their own food

Animals have compact bodies and need to find their food

Question 10

What are vertebrates and invertebrates?

Answer 10

Vertebrates have a backbone and an internal Skeleton

Invertebrates don’t but can have an exoskeleton

Question 11

What are the 5 types of vertebrates?

Answer 11

Fish
Amphibians
Reptiles
Birds
Mammals

Question 12

What is an ecosystem?

Answer 12

Where different organisms live together in an environment

Question 13

What is the difference between a natural and artificial ecosystem?

Answer 13

A natural ecosystem is where humans don’t control anything going on within it

An artificial one is where humans deliberately promote the growth of certain organisms and get rid of others

Question 14

What is a quadrat and what is it used for?

Answer 14

A square frame enclosing a certain area

You use it to estimate a population size for an ecosystem

Question 15

Why is the quadrat method not so accurate?

How could you make it more accurate?

Answer 15

It only represents a certain area and this may vary throughout the ecosystem

To make it more accurate you would use a larger quadrat

Question 16

What is a hybrid?

Answer 16

A hybrid is when you cross breed two species (eg a horse and donkey makes a mule)

However they hybrid will be infertile so it is not a new species

Question 17

What is population size limited by?

Answer 17

The total amount of food or nutrients available

The amount of water available

The amount of light for plants

The quality of shelter

Question 18

Why does the population of prey and predator go up and down?

Answer 18

If the population of prey increases, the population of predators will also increase

However, as predators increase, prey will decrease, leading to a decrease in predators

A decrease in predators allow prey to rise again

Question 19

What are parasites?

Answer 19

Something that is dependent on another life form, so takes from them without giving back (eg tapeworms)

Question 20

What is mutualism?

Answer 20

When two organisms depend on each other and BOTH benefit

Question 21

What is the ‘primordial soup’ theory?

Answer 21

Proteins pool together in the ocean and get struck by lightning, forming the first amino acids

Question 22

How have moths adapted in the industrial revolution?

Answer 22

Before, white moths were better as they camouflaged in, whereas black ones were killed

When the industrial revolution started, everything was coated in dust so black moths were better

Question 23

What are the three ways a species can become extinct?

Answer 23

The environment changes too fast for them to adapt
A new predator or disease kills them
They can’t compete with another species for food

Question 24

What were Darwin’s 4 observations?

Answer 24

All organisms produce more offspring that could possibly survive

Population numbers tend to remain fairly constant

Organisms in a species show wide variation in characteristics

Some of the variations are inherited and so passed onto the next generations

Question 25

What were Darwin’s two deductions?

Answer 25

Since most offspring don’t survive, all organisms struggle for survival and many die

The ones who have the characteristics that allow their survival will pass them on

Question 26

How does genetic engineering work?

Answer 26

A useful gene is cut by enzymes and the useful gene is put into a faulty gene that has been cut out of a chromosome

Question 27

How are GM plants better than normal ones?

Answer 27

They’ve been developed so they’re resistant to viruses and herbicides and can be made so they don’t spoil

It can increase the yield and size of crops

They can add nutrients into the fruit that weren’t there before

Question 28

Why are people against genetic engineering?

Answer 28

Some people believe that we shouldn’t do it because it’s not natural

Worries that changing genes can have accidental consequences which could be passed onto future generations

Question 29

What are the disadvantages of GM crops?

Answer 29

Those genes might get into the ground and get to weeds, creating a superweed that is invulnerable to the weed killer

Question 30

What did Wallace contribute to the theory of evolution?

Answer 30

He studied beetles and found the same as Darwin and told Darwin he should publish his book