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A LEVEL BIOLOGY > classification and evolution > Flashcards

classification and evolution Flashcards

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1
Q

what is classification

A

the name given to the process by which living organisms are sorted into groups, the organisms within each group share similar features

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2
Q

what are the taxonomic levels

A

(domain) kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species

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3
Q

what does the change in the classification system show us about science

A

that our scientific knowledge and understanding has developed over time, gathering new information

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4
Q

why do scientists classify organisms

A

to identify species, to predict characteristics, to find evolutionary links

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5
Q

how do you create a species binomial name

A

genus (capital letter) and species (lower case letter)

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6
Q

what are the three domains

A

archaea, bacteria and eukarya

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7
Q

what is a species

A

a group of organisms that are able to reproduce to make fertile offspring

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8
Q

what are the five kingdoms

A

prokaryote, protoctista, fungi, plantae, animalia

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9
Q

Animalia

A

multicellular, has a nucleus, all organelles except chloroplasts, no cell wall, nutrients are acquired by ingestion (heterotrophic feeders), food is stored as glycogen, cilia, flagella, contractile proteins e.g lizards

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10
Q

Plantae

A

multicellular, nucleus, all contain chlorophyll, cell wall mainly composed of cellulose, nutrients acquired by photosynthesis (autotrophic feeders), make their own food and store it as starch, most don’t move but gametes of some plants move using cilia or flagella, e.g roses

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11
Q

Fungi

A

unicellular or multicellular, nucleus, no chloroplasts or chlorophyll, cell wall mainly composed of chitin, acquired by absorption mainly from decaying material (saprophytic feeders) some are parasitic, store their food as glycogen, no mechanisms for locomotion, Yeasts

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12
Q

prokaryote

A

unicellular, no nucleus or other membrane-bound organelles, ring of ‘naked’ DNA, small ribosomes only, cell wall flexible and made of peptidoglycan, no visible feeding mechanism, nutrients absorbed through cell wall or produced internally through photosynthesis, flagellum (some) E.g staphylococcus aureus

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13
Q

Protoctista

A

mainly unicellular, nucleus, some have chloroplasts and membrane bound organelles, some have cell walls, nutrients acquired by photosynthesis and ingestion of other organisms (autotrophic and heterotrophic feeders), some are sessile, others move by cilia or flagella e.g Amoeba Paramecium

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14
Q

Eukarya

A

have 80s ribosomes, RNA polymerase contains 12 proteins

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15
Q

Archaea

A

have 70s ribosomes, RNA polymerase contains between 8 and 10 proteins

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16
Q

Bacteria

A

have 70s ribosomes, RNA polymerase contains 5 proteins

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17
Q

what are archaebacteria and eubacteria

A

come from when the prokaryote kingdom divides in two

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18
Q

what is the difference between eubacteria and archaebacteria

A

eubacteria contain peptidoglycan in their cell walls whereas archaebacteria do not

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19
Q

what is phylogeny

A

the name given to the evolutionary relationships between organisms

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20
Q

what are the advantages of phylogenetic classification

A

can be done without reference to Linnaean classification, produces a continuous tree, Linnaean classification can be misleading

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21
Q

how does evolution work

A

organisms best adapted to their environment are most likely to survive and reproduce, passing on their characteristics to their offspring

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22
Q

what is the evidence for evolution

A

palaeontology, comparative anatomy, comparative biochemistry (chemical makeup)

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23
Q

where are the oldest fossils found

A

deeper down in the rock

24
Q

what evidence is provided by the fossil record

A

bacteria found in oldest rocks whilst vertebrated are found in more recent rocks, plant fossils appear before animal fossils, links organisms to their common ancestors, allow relationships between extinct and living organisms to be investigated

25
Q

what are the disadvantages of fossils

A

soft bodied organisms decompose quickly before they can fossilise, conditions not always right for fossils to form, or fossils destroyed by the Earth’s movements

26
Q

what is a homologous structure

A

a structure that appears superficially different ( and may perform different functions) in different organisms, but has the same underlying structure. E.g pentadactyl limb of vertebrates

27
Q

what is divergent evolution

A

how, from a common ancestor, different species have evolved, each with a different set of adaptive features, occurs when closely related species diversify to adapt to new habitats as a result of migration or loss of habitat

28
Q

what is comparative biochemistry

A

the study of similarities and differences in the proteins and other molecules that control life processes

29
Q

how do scientists decide how closely two species are related

A

the molecular sequence of a particular molecule is compared, order of DNA bases or order of amino acids in a protein.

30
Q

why is ribosomal DNA used to compare species

A

slow rate of substitution

31
Q

what is intraspecific variation

A

variation between members of the same species

32
Q

what is interspecific variation

A

variation between organisms or different species

33
Q

what are the two causes of variation

A

genetics and environment

34
Q

what are the causes of genetic variation

A

Alleles, Mutations, Meiosis, Sexual reproduction, chance

35
Q

what is an example of a characteristic that is determined purely by genetic variation

A

your blood group

36
Q

why are plants affected by environmental factors more than animals

A

lack of mobility

37
Q

what is an example of a variation that is purely determined by your environment

A

scars

38
Q

what is discontinuous variation

A

a characteristic that can only result in certain values, no in between values, e.g blood groups, mostly genetic

39
Q

what is continuous variation

A

a characteristic that can take any value within a range e.g height and mass of a plant. Environmental factors can have an influence.

40
Q

what is standard deviation a measure of

A

how spread out the data is

41
Q

what is a student’s t test used to measure

A

compare the means of data values of two populations

42
Q

what is Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient used to measure

A

to consider the relationship between two data sets

43
Q

what are the three types of adaptations

A

behavioural, anatomical, physiological

44
Q

what are some examples of anatomical adaptations

A

body covering, camouflage, teeth, mimicry

45
Q

what are the adaptations of marram grass

A

curled leaves to minimise surface area of moist tissue exposed to air, and protect leaves from wind
hairs on the inside surface of the leaves to trap moist air to the leaf
stomata sunk into pits, which make them less likely to open and lose water
A thick waxy cuticle on the leaves and stems reducing evaporation

46
Q

what are some examples of behavioural adaptations

A

survival behaviours
courtship
seasonal behaviours e.g migration and hibernation

47
Q

what are the categories of behavioural adaptions

A

innate and learned behaviour

48
Q

what are some examples of physiological adaptations

A

poison production, antibiotic production, water holding

49
Q

what are analogous adaptations

A

structures that have adapted to perform the same function but have a different genetic origin

50
Q

what is convergent evolution

A

when unrelated species start to show the same traits

51
Q

why does convergent evolution occur

A

because species adapt to fill similar niches

52
Q

what are some examples of convergent evolution

A

marsupial and placental mice, flying phalangers and flying squirrels, marsupial and placental moles, aloe and agave

53
Q

what are selection pressures

A

factors that affect the organism’s chances of survival or reproductive success

54
Q

what are the steps of natural selection

A

genetic variation occurs within a species which is caused by differences in genes and mutations, organisms who are best selected to selection pressures have an increased chance of survival and reproduction (survival of the fittest), the successful organisms pass on the advantageous characteristic onto their offspring , process is repeated for every generation and over time leads to the evolution of a new species

55
Q

what are some modern examples of evolution

A

MRSA, Peppered moths, sheep blowflies, flavobacterium

56
Q

what is the founder effect

A

when few individuals of a species colonise a new area, their offspring initially experience a loss in genetic variation, often resulting in individuals that are physically and genetically different from their source population.

57
Q

what is specification

A

the evolution of a new species

A LEVEL BIOLOGY (13 decks)

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