Evolution

Question 1

Plato and Aristotle

Answer 1

Believed that all life existed in a perfected and unchanging form

Question 2

Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon

Answer 2

● Proposed that species could change over time
● These changes could lead to new organisms

Question 3

Georges Cuvier

Answer 3

• Developed the science of paleontology (study of fossils)
• Found that each layer of rock had a unique group of fossil species

Question 4

Charles Lyell

Answer 4

• Believed that slow, subtle processes could happen over a long period of time
• These could result in substantial changes

Question 5

Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet Chevalier de Lamarck

Answer 5

• Presented the first theory of evolution

Question 6

Lamarck’s Theory

Answer 6

• Believed that new, very simple species were continually created by spontaneous generation
• Believed characteristics that an organism acquired during its lifetime would be passed onto its offspring
  Lamarckism = inheritance of acquired characteristics

Question 7

Gradualism

Answer 7

slow, steady, linear change over time

Question 8

Punctuated equilibrium

Answer 8

long periods of equilibrium interrupted by “rapid” periods of speciation

Question 9

Speciation

Answer 9

formation of a new species through natural selection, driven by changes in the environment

Question 10

Divergence

Answer 10

one or more species arise from a parent species that continues to exist

Question 11

Adaptive Radiation

Answer 11

diversification of a common ancestral species into a variety of species, all of which are differently adapted

Question 12

1) The Fossil Record

Answer 12

The sequence in which fossils appear matches the sequence in which they would be expected to evolve

Question 13

What fossils demonstrate:

Answer 13

• Species living now are very different than those alive even 1 million years ago
• Fossil record shows the gradual progression of certain organisms from one form to another
• Complexity of organisms has increased over time
• Living species and their closely related fossils are located in same geographical region

Question 14

Dating Fossils

Answer 14

• Radiometric dating is used to determine the age of fossils
   Radiocarbon dating
• Relative Dating – determines the sequential order of a series of events
• Index fossils – used to define and identify different geologic periods

Question 15

2) Patterns of Distribution

Answer 15

●Species that are geographically isolated tend to demonstrate unique patterns of variation compared to species that are less isolated
● Closely related populations in similar geological ranges tend to demonstrate continuous variation, matching the concept of gradual divergence from a common ancestor

Question 16

3) Comparative Anatomy

Answer 16

Species that are closely related tend to have a lot of structural similarities
* Similarities exist between different species that suggest common ancestor/origin
* Homologous structures
* Similar in origin (appearance)
* Therefore common ancestors
* but have different function/uses
The basic form is inherited and modified to suit the present function

Question 17

Analogous features

Answer 17

similar in appearance and perform similar function, but don’t have
same evolutionary origin.
o Therefore different ancestors
o Normally such structures develop because of a common
environment

Question 18

4) Embryology

Answer 18

demonstrates how tiny changes in protein signalling during development can result in large-scale anatomic change

Question 19

5) Physiological Evidence

Answer 19

• Certain chemicals in organisms, as well as the function of these chemicals, are similar if not the same.
• Hormones: insulin in pigs and humans
• Thyroxin in frogs and humans

Question 20

6) Biogeochemical Evidence

Answer 20

Biochemical Evidence - similarity in DNA sequences; this is now used to determine similarities and common ancestry
* Over time, the sequences of genes or proteins change, the GREATER the differences, the LESS closely related organisms are likely to be