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AP Biology > Chapter 1: Evolution > Flashcards

Chapter 1: Evolution Flashcards

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AP® Biology flashcards Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

Thomas Aquinas and Albertus Magnus

A

the two theologists who proposed “natural truth” and “revealed truth”

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2
Q

Roger Bacon

A

urged against religious dogma and told people to “look at the world”

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3
Q

Francis Bacon

A

advocated experimentalism as a way to verify and rigorously test all things

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4
Q

Nicklaus Copernicus

A

an astronomer who theorized that the earth revolves around the sun, not the other way around, like theologists believed

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5
Q

Galileo Galilei

A

an astronomer who supported the Copernican theory, and was placed under house arrest for 14 years because of it. He was also later forced to recant his scientific views.

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6
Q

Isaac Newton

A

the english physicist who discovered gravity

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7
Q

James Usher

A

an archbishop who declared that the earth was created in 4004 BC

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8
Q

catastrophism

A

the theory that the Earth’s landscape is shaped by global catastrophes

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9
Q

gradualism

A

the theory that the Earth’s geological features are a result of slow, continuous processes

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10
Q

uniformitariansim

A

the theory that geological processes have remained “uniform” throughout all of history. For example, the rate at which sedimentation occurs has remained constant over the Earth’s entire history.

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11
Q

biogeography

A

the study of the past and present distribution of individual species and entire communities

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12
Q

adaptation

A

a particularity of structure, physiology, or behavior that increases an organism’s chance of survival and reproductive success

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13
Q

niche

A

the role of a species in the community of which it is part. It is the sum of an organism’s adaptations, resources, and trophic interactions with other organisms.

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14
Q

natural selection

A

the differential reproductive success of members of a species

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15
Q

artificial selection

A

the process by which desirable traits are selectively bred in plants and animals

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16
Q

survival of the fittest

A

variations that provide the greatest survival and reproductive advantages will be propagated at a greater rate than variations that are disadvantageous

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17
Q

selective pressure

A

when an outside force affects the composition of a population by favoring certain traits over others

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18
Q

half-life

A

the number of years required for half of the isotope to decay into another, more stable, element

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19
Q

coevolution

A

the reciprocal evolution of two or more interacting populations

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20
Q

transition fossils

A

fossils of organisms that seem to present a direct lineage between ancestral and present-day organisms

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21
Q

cladogenesis

A

a pattern of change characterized by the branching of a lineage into different paths

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22
Q

mass extinction

A

where the number of taxonomic families drops sharply

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23
Q

phylogeny

A

the evolutionary history of a species or a group of related species

24
Q

natural selection

A

the process by which favorable variations become more frequent in the gene pool

25
Q

vestigial structures

A

structures that are present in an organism yet have no apparent function

26
Q

homologous structures

A

equivalent structures between species with common ancestors

27
Q

analogous structures

A

structures that have superficial and functional similarities, not because of common ancestry, but because of convergent evolution

28
Q

convergent evolution

A

structures with similar functions arise separately in different species

29
Q

species

A

a group of organisms that can breed with one another in a wild, free-ranging condition to produce fertile offspring

30
Q

speciation

A

the process by which new species arise

31
Q

adaptive radiation

A

the evolution of many related species from an ancestral species in a relatively short time. Can occur when the ancestral species exploits many new ecological niches.

32
Q

prezygotic isolation

A

barriers to reproductive events that take place before fertilization

33
Q

postzygotic isolation

A

barriers to reproduction that occur after fertilization has taken place

34
Q

morphotype

A

different types of individuals of the same species in a population; a morph

35
Q

allopatric speciation

A

a form of speciation that occurs when populations become geographically isolated from one another

36
Q

selective pressure

A

an outside force that affects the composition of a population by favoring certain traits over others

37
Q

theory

A

a comprehensive explanation based on a broad set of observations

38
Q

hypothesis

A

a proposed explanation for an observation

39
Q

the heterotroph hypothesis

A

attempts to explain how the first life on earth evolved

40
Q

prokaryote

A

a one-celled organism that lacks a nuclear membrane, and can be divided into the subgroups bacteria and archaea

41
Q

eukaryote

A

an organism that has a nuclear membrane in its cell

42
Q

stromatolites

A

dome-shaped fossils of bacteria (prokaryotes) that are between 3.5 and 4 billion years old

43
Q

reducing atmosphere

A

an atmospheric condition that lacks free oxygen, and may contain such reactive gases as hydrogen and/or carbon monoxide. The chemicals in this type of atmosphere can act as reducing agents—they donate electrons. This characteristic allows for the synthesis of organic molecules.

44
Q

biotic

A

living organisms in the environment

45
Q

abiotic

A

the nonliving environment

46
Q

oxidizing atmosphere

A

an atmosphere that contains high amounts of oxygen

47
Q

protobionts

A

aggregates of molecules that might have been precursors to cells

48
Q

heterotroph

A

takes in materials and processes them

49
Q

coacervates

A

aggregates of polymerized molecules, such as starches and proteins, that self-assemble

50
Q

polymers

A

molecules made up of individual subunits bonded together to make one long chain

51
Q

proteinoids

A

abiotically produced polypeptides

52
Q

microspheres

A

formed when proteinoids self-assemble to surround water and exhibit some characteristics of a membrane

53
Q

liposomes

A

a shell of lipids that self-assembles to surround water and molecules

54
Q

ribozyme

A

an RNA molecule that can catalyze chemical reactions

55
Q

nucleotides

A

subunits of RNA

56
Q

catalyst

A

a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change

57
Q

RNA

A

a polymer made up of subunits called nucleotides

AP Biology (14 decks)

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