Ch. 2 -- Evolution: Constructing A Fundamental Scientific Theory

Question 1

Adaptive radiation

Answer 1

The diversification of an ancestral group of organisms into new forms that are adapted to specific environmental niches

Question 2

Allele

Answer 2

One or more alternative forms of a gene

Question 3

Blending inheritance

Answer 3

An outdated, disreputed theory that the phenotype of an offspring was a uniform blend of the parents’ phenotypes

Question 4

Catastrophism

Answer 4

The doctrine asserting that cataclysmic events (such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and floods), rather than evolutionary processes, are responsible for geologic changes throughout Earth’s history

Question 5

Chromosomes

Answer 5

The strand of DNA found in the nucleus of eukaryotes that contains hundreds or thousands of genes

Question 6

Demography

Answer 6

The study of population, especially with regard to birth, survival, and death, and the major factors that influence these three key parts of life

Question 7

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

Answer 7

A double-stranded molecule that provides the genetic code for an organism, consisting of phosphate, deoxyribose sugar, and four types of nitrogen bases

Question 8

Dominant

Answer 8

Refers to an allele that is expressed in an organism’s phenotype and that simultaneously masks the effects of another allele, if another one is present

Question 9

Endemic

Answer 9

Refers to a characteristic or feature that is natural to a given population or environment

Question 10

Evolutionary biology

Answer 10

The study of organisms and their changes

Question 11

Evolutionary synthesis

Answer 11

A unified theory of evolution that combines genetics with natural selection

Question 12

Fossils

Answer 12

Physical remains of part or all of once-living organisms, mostly bones and teeth, that have become mineralized by the replacement of organic with inorganic materials

Question 13

Gemmules

Answer 13

As proposed by Darwin, the units of inheritance, supposedly accumulated in the gametes so they could be passed on to offspring

Question 14

Gene

Answer 14

The basic unit of inheritance; a sequence of DNA on a chromosome, coded to produce a specific protein

Question 15

Gene flow

Answer 15

Admixture, or the exchange of alleles between two populations

Question 16

Genetic drift

Answer 16

The random change in allele frequency from one generation to the next, with greater effect in small populations

Question 17

Genotype

Answer 17

The genetic makeup of an organism; the combination of alleles for a given gene

Question 18

Genus

Answer 18

A group of related species

Question 19

Geology

Answer 19

The study of Earth, especially with regard to its composition, activity, and history

Question 20

Habitat

Answer 20

The specific area of the natural environment in which an organism lives

Question 21

Lamarckism

Answer 21

First proposed by Lamarck, the theory of evolution through the inheritance of acquired characteristics in which an organism can pass on features acquired during its lifetime

Question 22

Mendelian inheritance

Answer 22

The basic principles associated with the transmission of genetic material, forming the basis of genetics, including the law of segregation and the law of independent assortment

Question 23

Mutation

Answer 23

A random change in a gene or chromosome, creating a new trait that may be advantageous, deleterious, or neutral in its effects on the organism

Question 24

Natural selection

Answer 24

The process by which some organisms, with features that enable them to adapt to the environment, preferentially survive and reproduce, thereby increasing the frequency of those features in the population

Question 25

Paleontology

Answer 25

The study of fossils

Question 26

Phenotype

Answer 26

The physical expression of the genotype; it may be influenced by the environment

Question 27

Population genetics

Answer 27

A specialty within the field of genetics; it focuses on the changes in gene frequencies and the effects of those changes on adaptation and evolution

Question 28

Recessive

Answer 28

An allele that is expressed in an organism’s phenotype if two copies are present, but is masked if the dominant allele is present

Question 29

Species

Answer 29

A group of related organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile, viable offspring

Question 30

Systematics

Answer 30

The study of biological relationships over time

Question 31

Taxonomy

Answer 31

The classification of past and living life-forms

Question 32

Uniformitarianism

Answer 32

The theory that processes that occurred in the geologic past are still at work today

Question 33

Adaptations

Answer 33

Changes in physical structure, function, or behavior that allow an organism or species to survive and reproduce in a given environment