Chapter 24

Question 1

Evolution

Answer 1

The theory that all organisms on Earth are related by common ancestry and that they have changed over time, via natural selection. Any change in the genetic characteristics of a population over time; a change in allele frequencies.

Question 2

Population thinking

Answer 2

The ability to analyze trait frequencies, event probabilities and other attributes of populations of molecules, cells or organisms.

Question 3

Population

Answer 3

A group of individuals of the same species living in the same geographic area in the same time.

Question 4

Desent with modification

Answer 4

The phrase used by Darwin to describe his hypothesis of evolution by natural selection.

Question 5

Fossil

Answer 5

Any trace of an organism that existed in the past. Includes tracks, burrows, fossilized bones, casts etc.

Question 6

Fossil Record

Answer 6

All of the fossils that have been found anywhere on Earth and that have been formally described in the scientific literature.

Question 7

Sedimentary rock

Answer 7

A type of rock formed by gradual accumulation of sediment, as in riverbeds and on the ocean floor. Most fossils are found in sedimentary rock.

Question 8

Geological time scale

Answer 8

The sequence of eons, eras and periods used to describe the geological history of Earth.

Question 9

Natural selection

Answer 9

The process by which individuals with certain heritable traits tend to produce more surviving offspring than do individuals without those traits, often leading to a change in the genetic makeup of the population.

Question 10

Heritable Traits

Answer 10

Traits that can be transmitted from one generation to the next.

Question 11

Biological Fitness

Answer 11

The ability of an individual to produce viable offspring relative to others of the same species.

Question 12

Adaptation

Answer 12

Any heritable trait that increases the fitness of an individual with that trait; compared with individuals without the trait, in a particular environment.

Question 13

Tuberculosis

Answer 13

A disease of the lungs caused by infection with the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Question 14

Antibiotic

Answer 14

Any substance, such as penicillin, that can kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria.

Question 15

Special creation

Answer 15

Theological doctrine which states that the universe and all life in it originated in its present form by unconditional fiat or divine decree.

Question 16

Great chain of being

Answer 16

Its major premise was that every existing thing in the universe had its “place” in a divinely planned hierarchical order, which was pictured as a chain vertically extended.

Question 17

Inheritance of acquired characters

Answer 17

Hypothesis that physiological changes acquired over the life of an organism (such as the enlargement of a muscle through repeated use) may be transmitted to offspring.

Question 18

Typological thinking

Answer 18

The concept that organisms of a species conform to a specific norm. In this view variation is considered abnormal.

Question 19

Relative dating

Answer 19

The science of determining the relative order of past events (i.e., the age of an object in comparison to another), without necessarily determining their absolute age, (i.e. estimated age).

Question 20

Absolute dating

Answer 20

The process of determining an age on a specified chronology in archaeology and geology.

Question 21

Radiometric dating

Answer 21

Any method of determining the age of earth materials or objects of organic origin based on measurement of either short-lived radioactive elements or the amount of a long-lived radioactive element plus its decay product.

Question 22

Heritable variation

Answer 22

Amount of phenotypic (observable) variation in a population that is attributable to individual genetic differences. Heritability, in a general sense, is the ratio of variation due to differences between genotypes to the total phenotypic variation for a character or trait in a population.

Question 23

Allele frequencies

Answer 23

A measure of the relative frequency of an allele on a genetic locus in a population. Usually it is expressed as a proportion or a percentage. In population genetics, allele frequencies show the genetic diversity of a species population or equivalently the richness of its gene pool.