Evolution

Question 1

Evolution

Answer 1

The change in the genetic makeup of a population with time

Question 2

Lamarckian evolution

Answer 2

The amount of change in an organ arose because of the needs of the organism based on use or disuse
Any useful characteristic acquired in one generation was thought to be transmitted to the next

Question 3

Darwin’s theory of natural selection

Answer 3

Pressures in the environment select for the organism most fit to survive and reproduce

Question 4

Fitness

Answer 4

The ability to survive and reproduce

Question 5

Agents for evolutionary change

Answer 5

1. Overpopulation
2. Variations
3. Competition
4. Natural selection
5. Inheritance of the variations
6. Evolution of new species

Question 6

Speciation

Answer 6

The evolution of new species

Question 7

Species

Answer 7

Groups of individuals that can interbreed freely with each other but not with members of other species

Question 8

Factors leading to speciation

Answer 8

1. Genetic variation
2. Changes in the environment
3. Migration to new environments
4. Adaptations to new environments
5. Natural selection
6. Genetic drift
7. Isolation

Question 9

Demes

Answer 9

Small, local populations within a species

Question 10

Phylogeny

Answer 10

The evolutionary relationships among species alive today

Question 11

Convergent evolution

Answer 11

When two species from different ancestors develop similar traits when exposed to similar environments

Question 12

Parallel evolution

Answer 12

Independent evolution of similar traits, starting from a similar ancestral condition.

Question 13

Divergent evolution

Answer 13

When species with a shared ancestor develop differing traits due to dissimilarities between their environments

Question 14

Adaptive radiation

Answer 14

Emergence of a number of lineages from a single ancestral species due to adaptions in different niches

Question 15

Population

Answer 15

All members of a particular species inhabiting a given location

Question 16

Gene pool

Answer 16

The sum total of all the alleles for any given trait in the population

Question 17

Gene frequency

Answer 17

The decimal fraction representing the presence of an allele for all members of a population that have this particular gene

Question 18

Hardy-Weinberg principle

Answer 18

When the gene frequencies of a population are not change, the gene pool is stable and the population is not evolving

1. The population is very large
2. No mutations affect the gene pool
3. Mating between individuals in the population is random
4. There is no net migration of individuals into or out of the population
5. The genes in the population are all equally successful at reproducing

Question 19

Hardy-Weinberg equation

Answer 19

p^2 + 2pq + q^2 = 1

Question 20

Agents of microevolutionary change

Answer 20

1. Natural selection - frequency of favourable genes increases
2. Mutation - introduces additional alleles
3. Assortive mating - mates selected according to sexual selection
4. Genetic drift - changes in composition of gene pool due to chance
5. Gene flow - migration will increase or decrease genes

Question 21

Founder effect

Answer 21

Genetic drift tends to be more pronounced in small populations or new populations

Question 22

Fossils

Answer 22

The preserved remains of an organism

Question 23

Petrification

Answer 23

The process by which minerals replace the cells of an organism

Question 24

Imprints

Answer 24

Impressions left by an organism

Question 25

Molds

Answer 25

Form hollow spaces in rocks as the organisms within decay

Question 26

Casts

Answer 26

Formed by minerals deposited in molds

Question 27

Homologous structures

Answer 27

Have the same basic anatomical features and evolutionary origins Functions may not be similar

Question 28

Analogous structures

Answer 28

Have similar functions but different evolutionary origins and patterns of development

Question 29

Comparative embryology

Answer 29

The stages of development of the embyro resemble the stages in an organism's evolutionary history The earlier the stage of divergence, the more dissimilar the adult organisms will be

Question 30

Vestigial structures

Answer 30

Structures that have no known current function but had some ancestral function

Question 31

Heterotroph hypothesis

Answer 31

The first forms of life lacked the ability to synthesize their own nutrients and required preformed molecules of simple organic molecules

Question 32

Primordial soup

Answer 32

Simple organic molecules (sugars, amino acids, purines, pyrimidines) Eventually combined to form macromolecules

Question 33

Primitive cells

Answer 33

Colloidal protein molecules clump together to form coacervate droplets that absorb and incorporate substances from the surrounding environment Possess a definite internal structure

Question 34

Coacervate droplets

Answer 34

Cluster of colloidal molecules surrounded by a shell of water

Question 35

Development of autotrophs

Answer 35

Primitive heterotrophs slowly evolved complex biochemical pathways and anaerobic respiratory processes to convert nutrients into energy Developed primitive photosynthetic pathways to capture solar energy and synthesize carbohydrates from CO2 and water

Question 36

Development of aerobic respiration

Answer 36

Primitive autotrophs fixed CO2 during the synthesis of carbohydrates and released molecular O2 as a waste product turning the atmosphere from reducing to oxidizing

Question 37

Categories of living organisms

Answer 37

1. Autotrophic anaerobes 2. Autotrophic aerobes 3. Heterotrophic anaerobes 4. Heterotrophic aerobes