Classification and Evolution

Question 1

What is the biological species concept?

Answer 1

A group of organisms that are able to produce fertile offspring

Question 2

What is the binomial naming system?

Answer 2

Every organisms is given a scientific name of two parts: genus and species.
Written in italics and underlined
Avoids confusion between common names and makes it universal

Question 3

What is taxonomy?

Answer 3

Classifying species into groups based on the observed physical characteristics

Question 4

What is Phylogeny?

Answer 4

When you classify species into groups based on their evolutionary relatedness

Question 5

What are the 8 taxa used in Classification?

Answer 5

Domain
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species

Question 6

What is the phylogenetic species concept?

Answer 6

Organisms are the same species if they form a monophyletic group, the genetic differences between individuals are small and there is gene flow between individuals.

Question 7

What are the three Domains?

Answer 7

Archaea
Eubacteria
Eukaryotae

Question 8

What are the five kingdoms?

Answer 8

Prokaryotae
Protoctists
Fungi
Plantae
Animalia

Question 9

What is Genetic Diversity?

Answer 9

The number of different alleles of each gene in a population

Question 10

What is Natural Selection?

Answer 10

Random mutation can result in new alleles of a gene. Alleles which benefit their predecessor lead to increased reproductive success. Advantageous alleles are inherited by the next generation. Over many generations, the new alleles increases in frequency in the population.

Question 11

What is Evolution?

Answer 11

A change in allele frequencies in a population over time.

Question 12

What is an anatomical adaption?

Answer 12

Structural features of an organism that aid survival e.g. a giraffe’s long neck

Question 13

What is a Behavioural adaption?

Answer 13

Behaviour of an organism that aids its survival e.g. hibernation or migration

Question 14

What are Physiological Adaptions?

Answer 14

Functional internal processes in an organism that aid survival (often biochemical) e.g. thermoregulation or snakes producing venom.

Question 15

What is a Directional Selection?

Answer 15

An extreme phenotype is favored over other phenotypes, over many generations causing the allele frequency to shift in the direction of that phenotype e.g. antibiotic resistance.

Question 16

What is a Stabilizing selection?

Answer 16

Extreme phenotypes are disadvantageous and selected against. Phenotypes closer to the mean are therefore favoured and those alleles increase in frequency in the population over time e.g. human birth weight

Question 17

What is antibiotic resistance?

Answer 17

When a population of bacteria is exposed to an antibiotic, only individuals with alleles for resistance will survive and reproduce. The antibiotic resistant allele therefore increases in frequency in subsequent generations.

Question 18

What is Intraspecific Variation?

Answer 18

Differences within a species. Individuals of the same species have the same genes but different alleles which can lead to variation in their phenotype.

Question 19

What is Interspecific Variation?

Answer 19

Differences between species. Individuals of different species have different genes and live in different environments which leads to variation in phenotypes.

Question 20

What is Continuous Variation?

Answer 20

Variation is smooth and continuous- not in discrete groups e.g. height and weight

Question 21

What is Discontinuous Variation?

Answer 21

Individuals fall into discrete groups with no intermediates e.g. blood group

Question 22

What is convergent evolution?

Answer 22

Organisms that are not closely related can independently evolve very similar anatomy and behaviour because they have become adapted to similar niches/habitats.