Biology Test: Evolution

Question 1

Evolution

Answer 1

Change in a kind of organism over time

Question 2

Lamarck

Answer 2

A scientist who developed the theory of use and disuse *was proved to be false by Weisman

Question 3

Acquired Characteristics

Answer 3

An idea developed by Lamarck that stated that an organism that had developed characteristics throughout its lifetime passed on those characteristics to its offspring

Question 4

Weisman

Answer 4

The scientist who proved Lamarck’s theory of use and disuse wrong through use of mice

Question 5

Overproduction

Answer 5

When organisms produce more offspring than can survive

Question 6

Variation

Answer 6

Differences between organisms

Question 7

Survival of the fittest

Answer 7

Process by which individuals that are better suited to their environment survive and reproduce most successfully (also called natural selection)

Question 8

Fitness

Answer 8

Ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment

Question 9

Species

Answer 9

A group of similar organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring

Question 10

Struggle for Existence

Answer 10

Competition among members of a species for food, living space, and other necessities of life

Question 11

Adaptation

Answer 11

An inherited characteristic that increases an organism’s chance of survival

Question 12

Geological Time Scale

Answer 12

A time scale used by paleontologists to represent evolutionary time

Question 13

Inheritable Characteristics

Answer 13

Traits that are given to offspring from ancestors

Question 14

Extinction

Answer 14

The disappearance of a species from all parts of its geographical range

Question 15

Speciation

Answer 15

The formation of a new species

Question 16

Descent with Modification

Answer 16

The principle that each living species has descended, with changes, from other species over time

Question 17

Common Descent

Answer 17

The principle that all living things were derived from common ancestors

Question 18

Homologous Structure

Answer 18

Structures that have different mature forms in different organisms but develop from the same embryonic tissues

Question 19

Vestigial Organs

Answer 19

An organ that serves no useful function in an organism

Question 20

Gene Pool

Answer 20

The combined genetic information of all the members of a population

Question 21

Relative Frequency

Answer 21

The number of times an allele occurs in a gene pool compared with the number of times other alleles occur

Question 22

Single-gene Trait

Answer 22

A trait controlled by a single gene that has two alleles

Question 23

Polygenic Trait

Answer 23

A trait controlled my two or more genes

Question 24

Reproductive Isolation

Answer 24

The separation of populations so that they cannot interbreed and produce fertile offspring

Question 25

Behavioral Isolation

Answer 25

A form of reproductive isolation in which two populations have differences in courtship rituals or other types of behavior that prevent them from interbreeding

Question 26

Temporal Isolation

Answer 26

A form of reproductive isolation in which two populations reproduce at different times

Question 27

Geographic Isolation

Answer 27

A form of reproductive isolation in which two populations are separated physically by geographic barriers such as rivers, mountains, or stretches of water

Question 28

Macroevolution

Answer 28

Large-scale evolutionary changes that take place over long periods of time

Question 29

Adaptive Radiation

Answer 29

Process by which a single species or small group of species evolves into several different forms that live in different ways

Question 30

Convergent Evolution

Answer 30

The process by which unrelated organisms independently evolve similarities when adapting to similar environments

Question 31

Coevolution

Answer 31

The process by which two species evolve in response to changes in each other

Question 32

Punctuated Equilibrium

Answer 32

A pattern of evolution in which long stable periods are interrupted by brief periods of more rapid change

Question 33

Theory

Answer 33

A well-tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations

Question 34

What has to happen for evolution to not occur?

Answer 34

There must be no random mating, the population must be very large, there can be no moving in or out of the population, and there can be no mutations or natural selection

Question 35

Artificial Selection

Answer 35

Selection by humans for breeding of useful traits from the natural variation among different organisms

Question 36

What was Darwin’s publication on evolution called?

Answer 36

On the Origin of Species

Question 37

What are the two main sources of variation?

Answer 37

Mutations and the genetic shuffling that results from sexual reproduction

Question 38

What are the causes of speciation?

Answer 38

Behavioral, Geographical, and Temporal isolation

Question 39

How did Thomas Malthus influence Darwin?

Answer 39

He helped Darwin realize that overproduction applied even more strongly to plants and animals than it did to humans