Evolution

Question 1

What is evolution

Answer 1

Change in the inherited characteristics of a population over time through natural selection which may result in a new species

Question 2

Who first proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection

Answer 2

Charles Darwin

Question 3

What is the theory of evolution by natural selection

Answer 3

All species of living things evolved from a common ancestor that developed billions of years ago

Question 4

What is evolution

Answer 4

The gradual change in the inherited characteristics of a population over time through natural selection

Question 5

Explain the process of natural selection

Answer 5

Organisms within a species show a wide range of variation in phenotype

Individuals with characteristics most suited to the environment are more likely to survive and breed successfully

These characteristics are then passed on to their offspring

Question 6

Who first proposed the theory of evolution of evolution by natural selection

Answer 6

Charles Darwin

Question 7

What is the theory of evolution by natural selection

Answer 7

All species of living things evolved from a common ancestor that developed billions of years ago

Question 8

Describe Lamark’s idea of inheritance

Answer 8

Organisms change over their lifetimes and these characteristics can be inherited

Question 9

What was the theory of evolution by natural selection controversial

Answer 9

Challenged the idea that God made all of Earth’s animals and plants

Insufficient evidence at the time

Genes, inheritance, and variation were not understood

Question 10

What is the evidence to support evolution

Answer 10

It has been shown that characteristics are passed to offspring in gene

Evidence from fossil records

Evolution of antibiotics resistance in bacteria

Question 11

What is speciation

Answer 11

Gradual formation of a new species as a result of evolution

Question 12

Who is best known for his work on the theory of evolution

Answer 12

Alfred Russel Wallace

Question 13

What is extinction

Answer 13

When there are no remaining individuals of a species still alive

Question 14

Explain the process of speciation

Answer 14

Two populations of one species are isolated

Natural selection occurs so that the better adapted individuals reproduce and pass on these different characteristics

The populations have an increasing number of genetic mutations as they adapt to their different environments

Eventually the two populations are so genetically different they cannot breed to produce fertile offspring

Question 15

What factors lead to extinction

Answer 15

New predators

New diseases or pathogens

Increase competition for resources or mates

Catastrophic events

Changes to environment

Question 16

Explain the process of fossilisation

Answer 16

Reptile dies and falls to the ground

The flesh decays, leaving the skeleton to be covered in sand or soil and clay before it is damaged

Protected over millions of years, the skeleton becomes mineralised and turns to rocks. The rocks shift in the Earth with the fossils trapped inside

Eventually the fossil emerges as the rocks move and erosion take solace

Question 17

What are fossils

Answer 17

The remains of organisms from millions of years ago which are found in rocks

Question 18

What can fossils be formed from

Answer 18

Parts of an organism that cannot decay due to conditions needed for a decay are absent

Hard parts of an organism when placed by minerals

Preservation of the traces of organism - footprints

Question 19

What are the benefits of a fossil record

Answer 19

Tell scientists how species have changed over time

Allow us to understand how life has developed

Can track the movement of a species or it’s ancestors

Question 20

What are the problems with fossil records

Answer 20

Many early organisms were soft bodied so most decayed before producing fossils

Gaps in the fossil records as not all have been found or destroyed by geological/human activity

Question 21

List the binomial system of genus and species

Answer 21

Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species

Question 22

Who created the binomial system of genus and species and what is it used for

Answer 22

Carl Linnaeus

Used to classify living things into groups based on their structure and characteristics

Question 23

What are evolutionary trees and what are they used for

Answer 23

Uses current classification data for living organisms and fossil data for extinct organisms to show how scientists believe organism are elated

Question 24

What classification system did Carl Woese introduce

Answer 24

Three domain system of Archea, Bacteria, and Eukaryota

Question 25

Why can bacteria evolve rapidly

Answer 25

They reproduce at a fast rate

Question 26

How do resistant strains of bacteria develop

Answer 26

Mutations that allow the strain to survive and reproduce

Question 27

How to reduce the rise of antibiotics resistant strains

Answer 27

Doctors should only prescribe antibiotics for serious bacterial infections

Patients should complete their whole antibiotic course so all bacteria is killed

Use of antibiotics in farming and agriculture should be restricted

Question 28

What did Gregor Mendel do

Answer 28

Developed our understanding of genetics by carrying out breeding experiments on plants

Question 29

Why was Mendel’s work not recognised until after his death

Answer 29

Most scientists believed in blended inheritance

Published his work in an obscure journal that not many saw

He was a monk and not a scientist