Diversity of Life

Question 1

analogous structure

Answer 1

a character found in two taxa that looks similar because of convergent evolution, not because of descent from a common ancestor

Question 2

binomial nomenclature

Answer 2

a system of two-part scientific names for an organism, which includes genus and species names

Question 3

branch point

Answer 3

a point on a phylogenetic tree where a single lineage splits to distinct new ones

Question 4

Clade

Answer 4

a group of taxa with the same set of shared derived characters, including an ancestral species and all its descendants

Question 5

cladistics

Answer 5

a method used to organize homologous traits to describe phylogenies using common descendent as the primary criterion used to classify organisms

Question 6

Class

Answer 6

the category in the taxonomic classification system that falls within phylum and includes orders

Question 7

domain

Answer 7

the highest level category in the classification system and that includes all taxonomic classifications below it; it is the most inclusive taxon

Question 8

family

Answer 8

the category in the taxonomic classification system that falls within order and includes genera

Question 9

genus

Answer 9

the category in the taxonomic classification system that falls within family and includes species; the first part of the scientific name

Question 10

Kingdom

Answer 10

the category in the taxonomic classification system that falls within domain and includes phyla

Question 11

maximum parsimony

Answer 11

applying the simplest, most obvious way with the least number of steps

Question 12

Molecular Systematics

Answer 12

the methods of using molecular evidence to identify phylogenetic relationships

Question 13

monophyletic group

Answer 13

(also, clade) organisms that share a single ancestor

Question 14

Order

Answer 14

the category in the taxonomic classification system that falls within class and includes families

Question 15

Phylogentic Tree

Answer 15

diagram used to reflect the evolutionary relationships between organisms or groups of organisms

Question 16

Phylogeny

Answer 16

evolutionary history and relationship of an organism or group of organisms

Question 17

Phylum

Answer 17

the category in the taxonomic classification system that falls within kingdom and includes classes

Question 18

Rooted

Answer 18

describing a phylogenetic tree with a single ancestral lineage to which all organisms represented in the diagram relate

Question 19

Shared Ancestral Character

Answer 19

a character on a phylogenetic branch that is shared by a particular clade

Question 20

Shared Derived Character

Answer 20

a character on a phylogenetic tree that is shared only by a certain clade of organisms

Question 21

Sister Taxa

Answer 21

two lineages that diverged from the same branch point

Question 22

Species

Answer 22

the most specific category of classification

Question 23

Systematics

Answer 23

the science of determining the evolutionary relationships of organisms

Question 24

taxon

Answer 24

a single level in the taxonomic classification system

Question 25

taxonomy

Answer 25

the science of classifying organisms

Question 26

What are the three levels of domains?

Answer 26

Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya

Question 27

What is the second level of a domain called?

Answer 27

Kingdom, and can have several

Question 28

What are the subsequent categories of increasing specificity?

Answer 28

phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species

Question 29

The genus and species names are...?

Answer 29

Italicized

Question 30

Taxon is...?

Answer 30

capitalized

Question 31

All members of a taxon should have...?

Answer 31

a common ancestor and be more closely related to each other than to members of other taxa

Question 32

What are the limitations of phylogenetic trees?

Answer 32

assuming two species that look alive are closely related (not always) and branches do not show length of time

Question 33

Homologous traits share...?

Answer 33

an evolutionary path that led to the development of that trait

Question 34

Analogous traits

Answer 34

do not share an evolutionary path, (convergent evolution), and not because of a close evolutionary relationship

Question 35

Molecular characters can include...?

Answer 35

differences in the amino-acid sequence of a protein, differences in the individual nucleotide sequence of a gene, or differences in the arrangements of genes

Question 36

Do different genes change evolutionarily at different rates...?

Answer 36

Yes, and it affects how useful they are in finding relationships

Question 37

Rapidly evolving sequences are...?

Answer 37

are useful for determining the relationships among closely related species

Question 38

Slow evolving sequences are...?

Answer 38

useful for determining the relationships between distantly related species

Question 39

Clades must include...?

Answer 39

the ancestral species and all of the descendants from a branch point. Can vary in size. Organisms stem from single point on the tree

Question 40

The three assumptions of cladistics...?

Answer 40

The first is that living things are related by descent from a common ancestor. The second is that speciation occurs by splits of one species into two, never more than two at a time, and essentially at one point in time. The third assumption is that traits change enough over time to be considered to be in a different state

Question 41

Cladistics compares...?

Answer 41

Ingroups and Outgroups .

Question 42

Ingroups

Answer 42

the group of taxa being analyzed

Question 43

Outgroups

Answer 43

is a species or group of species that diverged before the lineage containing the group(s) of interest