Ch 2 vocab

Question 1

cladogram

Answer 1

a branching chart that shows the relative time sequence of the origin of various closely related groups of animals.

Question 2

hominids

Answer 2

taller, bipedal, hand long legs, and were great travelers. (5-8 million years ago.) distinguishes us from great apes

Question 3

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)

Answer 3

genetic material in the nucleus of the cell

Question 4

genome

Answer 4

full set of a species’ genes.

Question 5

encephalization quotient (Eq)

Answer 5

ratio of actual brain size to expected brain size: above trend like, larger than expected. Below, smaller EQ

Question 6

species-typical behaviors

Answer 6

behaviors characteristic to all members of a species

Question 7

culture

Answer 7

complex learned behaviors passed from generation to generation through teaching and experience.

Question 8

Parkinson’s Disease

Answer 8

a disease of the motor system (affects 1% of humans.) Symptoms include tremors, muscular rigidity, and changes in emotion and memory.

Question 9

genotype

Answer 9

genetic make-up

Question 10

dystonia

Answer 10

abnormal muscle tone

Question 11

alleles

Answer 11

alternate forms of genes

Question 12

homozygous

Answer 12

gene alleles are identical

Question 13

heterozygous

Answer 13

gene alleles are different

Question 14

mutation

Answer 14

a different version of a gene that can be beneficial but mostly contributes to gene disorders

Question 15

Tay-Sachs Disease

Answer 15

an inherited birth defect caused by the loss of genes that encode for the enzyme HexA (hexosaminidase A), necessary for the break down of a class of lipids in the brain.

Question 16

Huntington’s Disease

Answer 16

the buildup of abnormal huntingtin, a protein, which kills brain cells, including cortical cells. Symptoms include abnormal involuntary movements, memory loss, and eventually a complete deterioration of behavior, followed by death.

Question 17

Down Syndrome

Answer 17

usually a result of an extra copy of chromosome 21. (trisony).

Question 18

transgenic animals

Answer 18

product of technology in which numbers of genes or a single gene from one species is introduced into the genome of another species, passed along, and expressed in subsequent generations.

Question 19

phenotype plasticity

Answer 19

an individual’s capacity to develop into more than one phenotype.

Question 20

gene methylation

Answer 20

process in which a methyl group (CH3) attached to the DNA nucleotide base pair sequence. The level of gene methylation in difference phenotypes reflects an increase or decrease in overal gene expression.

Question 21

critical period

Answer 21

developmental window during which some event has a long-lasting influence on the individual. Can modify gene expression.