Exam 1

Question 1

natural selection

Answer 1

a process in which individuals that have certain inherited traits tend to survive and reproduce at higher rates than other individuals because of those traits

Question 2

adaptations

Answer 2

inherited characteristics of organisms that enhance their survival and reproduction in specific enviornments

Question 3

homology

Answer 3

Similarity resulting from common ancestry. Form and function do not always have to be the same

Question 4

vestigial structures

Answer 4

Remnants of features that served a function in the organisms ancestors

Question 5

Darwin’s observations and infererences

Answer 5

Observation #1: Members of a population vary greatly in their traits.
○ Observation #2: Offspring inherit traits from their parents.
○ Observation #3: All species are capable of producing more offspring than the
environment can support.
○ Observation #4: Due to lack of food or other resources, many of these offspring do not
survive.
○ Inference #1: Individuals whose inherited traits give them a higher probability of
surviving and reproducing in a given environment than other individuals tend to leave
more offspring than other individuals.
○ Inference #2: This unequal ability of individuals to survive and reproduce will cause
favorable traits to accumulate over generations.

Question 6

individuals do not evolve. Rather it is ______ that evolve

Answer 6

populations

Question 7

Patterns in homologies and “tree thinking”

Answer 7

Homologous characteristics that evolved more recently are shared within a smaller group of organisms

Question 8

Convergent evolution

Answer 8

The independent evolution of similar features in different lineages

Question 9

Analogous features

Answer 9

Analogous features share similar function but not common ancestry

Question 10

Evidence for evolution (4)

Answer 10

Direct observations,

homology, the fossil record, and biogeography

Question 11

Biogeography

Answer 11

Scientific study of the geographic distributions of species.

Question 12

Microevolution

Answer 12

A change in allele frequencies in a population over generations

Question 13

Main mechanisms that cause allele frequency change

Answer 13

Natural selection, genetic drift (chance events that alter allele frequencies), and gene flow(the transfer of alleles between populations)

Question 14

Main mechanisms that cause allele frequency change

Answer 14

Natural selection, genetic drift (chance events that alter allele frequencies), and gene flow(the transfer of alleles between populations)

Question 15

Natural selection is the only mechanism of __________
__________, improving the match between
organisms and their environment

Answer 15

adaptive evolution