Chapter 2 - Evolution

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An outdated, refuted theory that the phenotype of an offspring was a uniform blend of the parent’s phenotypes

Question 4

Catastrophism

Answer 4

The doctrine asserting that cataclysmic events, 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 genese

Question 6

Demography

Answer 6

The study of a population’s features and vital statistics, including birthrate, death rate, population size, and population density

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

Evolutionary Biology

Answer 9

A specialty within the field of biology; the study of the process of change in organisms

Question 10

Evolutionary synthesis

Answer 10

A unified theory of evolution that combines genetics with natural selection

Question 11

Fossils

Answer 11

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 12

Gemmules

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Gene Flow

Answer 13

Admixture or the exchange of alleles between two populations

Question 14

Genetic Drift

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Genotype

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Genus

Answer 16

A group of related species

Question 17

Geology

Answer 17

The study of Earth’s physical history

Question 18

Habitat

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Lamarckism

Answer 19

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 20

Mendelian Inheritance

Answer 20

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 21

Mutation

Answer 21

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 22

natural Selection

Answer 22

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 23

Paleontology

Answer 23

The study of extinct lifeforms through analysis of fossils

Question 24

Phenotype

Answer 24

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

Question 25

Population Genetics

Answer 25

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 26

Recessive

Answer 26

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 27

Species

Answer 27

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

Question 28

Systematics

Answer 28

The study and classification of living organisms to determine their evolutionary relationships with one another

Question 29

Taxonomy

Answer 29

The classification of organisms into a system that reflects degrees of relatedness

Question 30

Uniformitarianism

Answer 30

The theory that natural processes operating today are the same as the processes that occurred in the geologic past