GEN BIO: EVOLUTION

Question 1

Evolution

Answer 1

Theory regarding the process that have produced the biological diversity we see today
Darwin’s 2 main arguments:
1. the present species evolved from ancestrial ones
2. evolution occurs by means of natural selection, the process by which traits that enhance an organisms ability to survive and reproduce are passed on to following generations

Question 2

Adaption/ survival of the fittest

Answer 2

-Organisms have variations, some of which give the individuals having them an advantage in the struggle for survival
-The struggle for survival occurs because each generation of a species produces more offspring than can survive.
-In the struggle the individuals best suited to their environment survive.

Question 3

Fossil record

Answer 3

-Remnants of organisms from past geologic ages.
-Fossils that have been dated show a timeline for the appearance of different vertebrates (animals with backbones) in the following order: Fish, then amphibians, then reptiles, and finally mammals and birds.

Question 4

Biogeography

Answer 4

The geographical distribution of plants and animals

Question 5

Comparative anatomy

Answer 5

The comparison of organisms structures

Question 6

Comparative embryology

Answer 6

The comparison of organisms embryos

Question 7

Molecular biology

Answer 7

Biology at the molecular level

Question 8

Taxonomy

Answer 8

The study of scientific classification
Taxonomists group species according to their similarities and differences
There are many levels of classification

Question 9

[CLASSIFICATION LEVELS]
Kingdoms (there are five)

Answer 9

Animal, plant, monera (bacteria), protist (Protozoa, algae, and some molds), and fungi (molds, mushrooms, yeasts, and the like.)

Question 10

[CLASSIFICATION LEVELS]
After the first five:

Answer 10

Phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species

Question 11

[CLASSIFICATION LEVELS]
What is the scientific name of an organism?

Answer 11

-genus and species
The scientific name of an organism is always the genus and the species of the organism, with the genus capitalized and the species not (ex. Escherichia coli (E.coli), the well known bacterium found in the colons of warm-blooded animals, is the genus Escherichia and the species coli.