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Biology > Classification & Evolution > Flashcards

Classification & Evolution Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the 7 taxonomic groups?

A 
Kingdom 
Phylum 
Class
Order
Family
Genus 
Species
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2
Q

Why do scientists classify organisms?

A
  • To identify species
  • To predict characteristics
  • To find evolutionary links
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3
Q

What are species?

A

A group of organisms that are able to reproduce to produce fertile offspring

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4
Q

What is a mule/hinny?

A

Infertile offspring - not a species

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5
Q

Why are mules infertile?

A

Their cells contain an odd number of chromosomes. This means that meiosis and gamete production cannot take place correctly as all chromosomes must pair up

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6
Q

What were the issues before classification systems were used?

A
  • Organisms may have more than one common name
  • Different names in different languages
  • Common names don’t provide information about relationships between organisms
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7
Q

What is binomial nomenclature?

A

The system in which two terms are used to denote a species of living organism

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8
Q

What does the first word of the species name indicate?

A

The genus

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9
Q

What does the second word of the species name indicate?

A

The specific name - organism’s species

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10
Q

How should an organism’s scientific name be presented?

A
  • Italics

- Handwritten = underline name, lowercase with the exception of the first letter of genus’ name

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11
Q

What are the 5 kingdoms?

A 
Prokaryotae 
Protoctista 
Fungi
Plantae 
Animalia
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12
Q

How are organisms classified as prokaryotae?

A
  • Cell type = prokaryotic
  • Body organisation = unicellular
  • Type of nutrition = autotrophic/heterotrophic
  • No membrane-bound organelles
  • E.g. bacteria
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13
Q

How are organisms classified as protoctista?

A
  • Cell type = eukaryotic
  • Body organisation = unicellular
  • Type of nutrition = autotrophic/heterotrophic
  • Membrane-bound organelles present
  • E.g. algae
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14
Q

How are organisms classified as fungi?

A
  • Cell type = eukaryotic
  • Body organisation = multicellular
  • Type of nutrition = heterotrophic
  • Membrane-bound organelles present
  • E.g. yeast
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15
Q

How are organisms classified as plantae?

A
  • Cell type = eukaryotic
  • Body organisation = multicellular
  • Type of nutrition = autotrophic
  • Membrane-bound organelles present
  • E.g. angiosperms
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16
Q

How are organisms classified as animalia?

A
  • Cell type = eukaryotic
  • Body organisation = multicellular
  • Type of nutrition = heterotrophic
  • Membrane-bound organelles present
  • E.g. birds
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17
Q

What is the current classification system used by scientists?

A

Three Domain System - Carl Woese

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18
Q

When was the word ‘kingdom’ renamed ‘domain’?

A

1990

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19
Q

How are the organisms in the 3 different domains different?

A

Unique form of rRNA and different ribosomes:

  • Eukarya: 80s ribosomes and RNA polymerase with 12 proteins
  • Archaea: 70s ribosomes and RNA polymerase with 8-10 proteins
  • Bacteria: 70s ribosomes and RNA polymerase with 5 protein sugar
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20
Q

What are the 6 kingdoms?

A

The Prokaryotae kingdom divides into 2 - Archaebacteria and Eubacteria

21
Q

Give 2 facts about Archaebacteria

A
  • Can live in extreme environments

- E.g. hot thermal vents, anaerobic conditions and highly acidic environments

22
Q

Give 2 facts about Eubacteria

A
  • Found in all environments

- Chemically different from Archaebacteria

23
Q

What is phylogeny?

A

The name given to the evolutionary relationships between organisms

24
Q

Give 5 pieces of evidence used for phylogeny

A

1- Genetics (e.g. DNA) - compare base sequence, the higher the % match the more closely related they are
2- Biochemistry (e.g. antibodies/enzymes) - compare tertiary structure, more similar = more related
3- Anatomy - observable physical characteristics
4- Behaviour
5- Embryology - how the embryo develops

25
Q

Give 3 advantages of phylogenetic classification

A
  • Can be done without reference to Linnaean Classification
  • Produces a continuous tree whereas classification requires discrete taxonomical groups
  • The hierarchical nature of Linnaean classification can be misleading as it implies different groups within the same rank are equivalent
26
Q

What is variation?

A

The differences in characteristics between organisms

27
Q

What is interspecific variation?

A

Differences between members of different species

28
Q

What is intraspecific variation?

A

Differences between organisms within a species

29
Q

What are the two types of causes of variation?

A
  • Genetic causes

- Environmental causes

30
Q

Give 3 genetic causes of variation

A
  • Mutations
  • Meiosis
  • Random fertilisation
31
Q

What is discontinuous variation?

A
  • Individuals fall into discrete groups with no intermediates
  • Controlled by a single gene with a few alleles
  • E.g. blood group
32
Q

How is discontinuous variation represented?

A

Bar chart

33
Q

What is continuous variation?

A
  • A characteristic that can take any value within a range
  • Variation is smooth and continuous (not discrete)
  • E.g. height and weight
34
Q

How is continuous variation represented?

A

Line graph

35
Q

What are normal distribution curves?

A

When continuous variation data are plotted onto a graph, they usually result in the production of a bell-shaped curve

36
Q

Give 4 characteristics of a normal distribution

A
  • The mean, mode and median are the same
  • Has a ‘bell shape’
  • 50% of value are less than mean and 50% are greater
  • Most values lie close to the mean value
37
Q

When is a student’s t test carried out?

A

This is used to compare the means of data values of 2 populations

38
Q

When is a spearman’s rank correlation coefficient carried out?

A

This is used to consider the relationship between 2 sets of data

39
Q

What are adaptations?

A

Characteristics that increase the organism’s chance of survival and reproduction in its environment

40
Q

What are the 3 types of adaptations?

A
  • Anatomical adaptations (physical features)
  • Behavioural adaptations (the way an organism acts)
  • Physiological adaptations (processes that take place inside an organism)
41
Q

Give 4 examples of anatomical adaptations

A

1- Body covering
2- Camouflage
3- Teeth
4- Mimicry

42
Q

Give 3 examples of behavioural adaptations

A

1- Survival behaviours (e.g. playing dead)
2- Courtship (attract a mate)
3- Seasonal behaviours (organisms cope with changes in environment). They include:
• Migration
• Hibernation

43
Q

What are the 2 main categories of behavioural adaptations

A
  • Innate behaviour (inherited through genes)

- Learned behaviour

44
Q

Give 3 examples of physiological adaptations

A
  • Poison production
  • Antibiotic production
  • Water holding
45
Q

What are analogous structures?

A

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

46
Q

When does convergent evolution take place?

A

When unrelated species begin to share similar traits

47
Q

Explain how comparative biochemistry provides evidence of evolution

A
  • Changes in highly conserved molecules can help identify evolutionary links, such as ribosomal RNA
  • Species that are closely related have the most similar DNA/proteins, distantly related have far fewer similarities
48
Q

Give 3 examples of convergent evolution

A

1- Marsupial and placental mice (both are small, agile climbers that live in dense ground cover and forage at night for small food items)

2- Flying phalangers and squirrels (both are gliders that eat insects and plants. Their skin is stretched between their forelimbs and hind to provide a large SA for gliding from trees)

3- Marsupial and placental moles (both burrow through soft soil to find worms and grubs, both have a streamlined body shape and modified forelimbs for digging)

Biology (19 decks)

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