EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS Flashcards
What is the biological definition of the term evolution?
a. The changes shown by fossils over millions of years
b. The transmission of favorable variations to offspring
c. The promotion of variation in a species by sexual reproduction
d. The cumulative change in the heritable characteristics of a population
D. The cumulative change in the heritable characteristics of a population
When single-stranded DNA from a human is mixed with single-stranded DNA from a chimpanzee, we find that about 99% of the DNA is similar. What does this evidence imply?
a. humans evolved from chimpanzees
b. chimpanzees evolved from humans
c. humans and chimpanzees are closely related
d. humans and chimpanzees originated in similar environments
C. humans and chimpanzees are closely related
Darwin’s theory assumes that evolution is a result of survival, adaptation and reproduction. If Darwin had the Theory of Natural Selection, what did Lamarck have?
I. Theory of Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics
II. Principle of Use and Disuse
III. Theory of Catastrophism
IV. Principle of Geology
a. I and II
b. III and IV
c. I and III
d. II and IV
A. I and II
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I. Theory of Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics: Lamarck suggested that organisms could acquire new traits during their lifetime through the use or disuse of certain organs or features. These acquired traits could then be passed on to offspring. For example, he proposed that giraffes developed long necks through generations of stretching to reach higher leaves, and this trait was inherited by their offspring.
II. Principle of Use and Disuse: This principle states that organs or structures that are used extensively become larger and stronger, while those that are not used deteriorate over time. Lamarck believed that these changes could be passed down to offspring.
What is the key idea in the theory of natural selection regarding individuals with advantageous hereditary characteristics?
a. They will live to reproduce
b. They will compete successfully
c. They will undergo mutations
d. They will maintain a stable environment
A. They will live to reproduce
Two cactus plants, the Cereus gigantea that grows in the American desert and the spurge, Euphorbia sp. that grows in the African desert, are unrelated species which are becoming more and more similar in appearance. Which of the following conditions affected their pattern of evolution making them look similar?
a. common ancestors
b. same amount of light
c. same environmental conditions
d. similar structures and function
C. same environmental conditions
Divergent evolution is _______
a. when individuals in one species, or closely related species, acquire enough variations in their traits that it leads to two distinct new species
b. when two unrelated species develop similar traits because they live in similar environments
c. an evolution that creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last common ancestor of those groups.
d. when species sharing a common ancestry become more distinct due to differential selection pressure
A / D
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A. when individuals in one species, or closely related species, acquire enough variations in their traits that it leads to two distinct new species
D. when species sharing a common ancestry become more distinct due to differential selection pressure
The type of biodiversity occurring within organisms at a cellular level, describing the variety of molecules carrying the information in all living things is called
a. Ecosystem diversity
b. Community diversity
c. Species diversity
d. Genetic diversity
D. Genetic diversity
Which types of organisms developed first due to the early environmental conditions on Earth?
a. eukaryotic and aerobic
b. eukaryotic and anaerobic
c. prokaryotic and aerobic
d. prokaryotic and anaerobic
D. prokaryotic and anaerobic
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aerobic - WITH oxygen, slowly
anaerobic - WITHOUT oxygen, fast
eukaryotic - WITH nucleus
prokaryotic - WITHOUT nucleus
Many protozoans are parasitic and cause diseases to humans. Which of the following correctly identifies the disease and its pathogen (causative agent)?
a. Spotted fever - Trypanosoma cruzi
b. Amoebic dysentery - Paramecium
c. Malaria - Plasmodium falciparum
d. Chagas Disease - Trichonympha
C. Malaria - Plasmodium falciparum
Vascular plants, also known as tracheophytes or higher plants, form a large group of plants that are defined as those land plants that have lignified tissues for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. Which of the following correctly divides the group into seedless and seed plants?
I. Ferns
II. Club Mosses
III. Angiosperms
IV. Cycads
V. Horsetails
VI. Conifers
Seedless // Seed
a. I, II, III // IV, V, VI
b. I, II, V // III, IV, VI
c. I, III, V // II, IV, VI
d. II, IV, V // I, III, VI
B. I, II, V // III, IV, VI
// Ferns, Club Mosses and Horsetails are seedless
Angiosperms, Cycads and Conifers are seed plants
Which is a characteristic of most monocots?
a. bear their seeds in cones
b. have vascular bundles that are arranged in a circle
c. do not produce flowers
d. have parallel venation
D. have parallel venation
// Venation - the arrangement of veins in a leaf or in an insect’s wing.
a. Those are typical of gymnosperms
b. Those are dicots
c. False, they produce flowers since they are angiosperms (flowering plants)
How are fungi different from animals?
a. ingest their nutrients before digesting them
b. secrete enzymes and then absorb the digested nutrients through their cell wall
c. have cell walls made of cellulose without chitin
d. do not store energy in the form of glycogen
B. secrete enzymes and then absorb the digested nutrients through their cell wall
Insects are the most diverse group of organisms. They have adapted to almost any kind of environment. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of insects?
a. three main body segments
b. three pairs of legs
c. two pairs of antennae
d. excretion by malpighian tubules
C. two pairs of antennae
// Insects only have ONE (1) pair of antennae.
The three main body segments of an insect are specifically the (1) head, (2) thorax and (3) abdomen
Sponges, flatworms and annelids are hermaphrodites. How are hermaphrodites characterized?
a. no sexual reproduction
b. presence of both male and female organs in one individual
c. presence of one sex on each individual
d. absence of sex organs
B. presence of both male and female organs in one individual
What is common between an earthworm, a spider, a cat, and a crab?
a. They produce asexually
b. They are acoelomates
c. They show bilateral symmetry
d. They have the same internal structure
C. They show bilateral symmetry
// Acoelomates are animals that have no internal, fluid-filled body cavity separating their body wall from their digestive tract
