Final Exam Flashcards
James Hutton’s research into the age of the Earth demonstrated that the Earth was ___________.
Millions of years old
______________ is most powerful as a cause of evolutionary change when operating on small populations.
Genetic drift
What is the only source of new genetic material (i.e. genes)?
Mutation
There must be ____________ within a population in order for natural selection to act upon it.
Variation
Erasmus Darwin, who also recognized that species change over time, was Charles Darwin’s _________.
Grandfather
Why is the work of Alfred Russell Wallace considered when discussing the Theory of Evolution?
He was a scientist and contemporary of Darwin who independently arrived at many of the same conclusions concerning natural selection
George Cuvier’s work on fossil elephants of France supported the then-controversial notion of ____________.
Extinction
Different versions of the same gene are called ___________.
Alleles
Mendel’s experiments on pea plants demonstrated that _________.
Traits inherited from each parent remained distinct (i.e. did NOT blend) in the offspring.
Darwin collected some data that he ultimately used to construct his theory while on a five-year voyage aboard the ____________, a British naval vessel that circumnavigated the globe on a mapping mission.
HMS Beagle
The complete set of genes in an individual cell is called ____.
the genome
In order for traits to respond to natural selection…
they must be heritable
Prokaryotes first appeared ___________.
3.7 billion years ago
Meiosis results in the production of _____.
gametes
The expression of polygenic traits …
is determined by multiple genes in conjunction with environmental factors
___________ is the only source of new alleles.
mutation
_____________ is the force of evolution that is most powerful when acting upon a very small population
genetic drift
Together, all of the alleles contained within a group of interbreeding individuals is known as __________.
the gene pool
Changes in the percentage of individuals with specific pigmentations among the ____________ of Great Britain clearly demonstrates how natural selection operates.
peppered moths
The absence of A and B alleles for blood type among Native American populations is a result of __________.
founder effect
Race is NOT a viable biological concept because ____________.
- ) races account for only a small amount of human biological variation
- ) the distribution of biological traits follow a cline
- ) traits do not agree with their frequency and distribution
A cline…
is continuous variation that follows a continuum
Human brain growth is completed by age ________.
6
Puberty is marked by _________.
menarche (menstruation) in girls
Dark skin is likely an adaptation to exposure to high levels of UV radiation from sunlight, because UV rays can cause ________.
skin cancer
The strength and mass of bone _________.
vary from person to person depending on their level of physical activity
Unlike other animals, humans acquire resources such as food and reproductive partners…
entirely within the context of culture and society
Exercise improves physical fitness by contributing to all of the following EXCEPT…
higher cholesterol
Low birth rate can result from the mother’s…
- ) malnutrition
- ) smoking like a chimney
- ) boozing it up
According to the text, females are less able to tolerate heat than males because…
on average, females have a higher body fat content
Suspensory locomotion is characteristic of which primate?
gibbons
Sagittal crests are pronounced in those primates with massive…
chewing muscles
Because they rely heavily on their sense of touch and manipulate items with their hands, most primates have…
nails on all of their fingers and toes
Unlike monkeys, apes…
- ) Don’t have tails
2. ) Are found only in the Old World
Modern lemurs are found only in…
Madagascar
Anthropoids include…
monkeys, apes, and humans
Which of the following primates have a fully prehensile tail?
spider monkeys and howler monkeys
What is the dental formula for lorises and lemurs?
2/1/3/3
Which of the following primates has retained a rhinarium?
Lemurs and Lorises
The typical dental formula for apes and humans is….
2/1/2/3
The Earth is about ______ years old.
4.6 billion
In terms of geologic time, when did humans appear on Earth?
very recently
In what kind of rock are fossils usually found?
sedimentary
which of the following is NOT an absolute dating method?
stratigraphy
Which US President reported the discovery of a fossilized ground sloth in Virginia to the American Philosophical Society?
Thomas Jefferson
The English surveyor who developed the technique of stratigraphic correlation between regions was
William Smith
[T/F] Charles Lyell is considered the father of vertebrate paleontology.
False; father of geology
[T/F] Radiocarbon dating relies on an element that has a half-life of 5,730 years. Therefore, it is a useful technique to date materials that are millions of years old.
False