Exam 3 Quiz Questions Flashcards
What is biological evolution?
the gene changes occurring in populations over many generations
How do scientists determine the dates of fossils?
measure the ratio of a radioactive element to the decay products
What evidence shows the similarities between humans and apes?
the DNA, development, and adult anatomy
Most biologists would agree that the statement “All modern organisms derive from a single common ancestor” is ________.
an accepted scientific theory
Why is special creation not considered a scientific explanation for the diversity of life on earth?
Special creation involves a supernatural creator, which is not observable or measurable in the material universe.
How do genetic engineering techniques lend support to the theory of common descent?
Genes from one organism can be moved to a very different organism and still code for the same protein.
Which description would be considered a scientific theory like the theory of evolution?
a theory about why an apple falls to the ground when dropped
Why can evolution in mosquitoes be more easily observed than evolution in a population of squirrels?
Mosquitoes have a shorter generation time.
In land mammals, the pelvic girdle is the point where the leg bones attach to the rest of the skeleton. Whales also have a small pelvic girdle. What type of evidence for common descent would include the whale’s pelvic girdle?
A vestigial structure (non-functional structure that is functional in a different species)
Why are fossils from older species found deeper in the earth than those from more recent species?
Layers of sediments accumulate every year, covering older fossils in more layers.
What type of evidence for the theory of common descent would include the nonfunctional wings of an ostrich?
Vestigial structures
How are a bat’s wing, a sea lion’s flipper, and a lion’s front leg related?
They are all homologous structures (homology)
Of the four hypotheses that explain the origin of modern organisms, which is the one with the least scientific support?
The static hypothesis
The Earth is not 10,000 years old
True or false: Evolution is a very controversial idea among scientists.
False
How would evolutionary biologists define the fitness of an organism?
the ability of an individual to survive and reproduce
How do antibiotics cause evolution in a population of tuberculosis bacteria?
Antibiotics kill bacteria without resistance, leaving only resistant bacteria.
A population of foxes lives in an area in which the average winter temperature has been dropping for several years. Which adaptation would be most likely?
The exact adaptation depends on the genetic variation present in the population.
If a population of fruit flies is exposed to a food source with high alcohol content, what would happen to the population?
Individuals who are not tolerant of the ethanol would die, and individuals who are naturally tolerant would survive.
What is the source of variation in a population?
spontaneous mutations
Snakes are reptiles. Most reptiles have limbs. What relationship probably exists between snakes and limbed reptiles?
Being legless offered an advantage in one environment that allowed snakes to evolve from limbed reptiles.
How do bacterial mutations make bacteria resistant to antibiotics?
The mutation either disables or counteracts the antibiotic so the bacteria can live in the presence of antibiotics.
What is evolution? (in relation to reproductive fitness)
a process that occurs as a result of differences in reproductive fitness
A city was intensively sprayed with DDT to control houseflies. The number of houseflies was immediately greatly reduced. Each year thereafter, the city was sprayed again, but the flies gradually increased in numbers until 10 years later, when they were almost as abundant as they were when the control program began. Which of the following most likely explains this?
The DDT killed most flies. The few that were already naturally resistant survived and passed this resistance on to their offspring.
A biologist has been studying two populations of trout in Montana for the last 25 years, when the two populations were established from one common population. In the southern population, the fish now have a slightly different mouth shape. But the northern population hasn’t changed from the original type. The new shape works well in catching the type of prey common in the habitat of the southern population. Which is the best explanation for the gene differences in the two populations?
The gene that produces the variation is probably still present in a small percentage of the northern population, but since there’s no advantage to having it, individuals with the variation aren’t selected.
