Genetic definitions

Question 1

Adaptation

Answer 1

physical feature of an organism that contributes to its survival

Question 2

Viability

Answer 2

able to survive and have offspring

Question 3

Allele

Answer 3

variation of a gene

Question 4

Genotype

Answer 4

particular alleles present in an individual for a particular trait 

Question 5

Phenotype

Answer 5

Physical conditions caused by the activity of genes

Question 6

Genome

Answer 6

Genetic make up of a species

Question 7

Gene pool

Answer 7

all the alleles of a population considered together, and expressed as a fractions of the total for each gene type

Question 8

Mutation

Answer 8

A change in the genetic code of an allele; the change may have a positive, negative or no effect

Question 9

Species

Answer 9

All the members of a population that can integrate under natural conditions

Question 10

Allopatric speciation

Answer 10

formation of a new species as a result of evolutionary changes following a period of geographic isolation

Question 11

Sympatric speciation

Answer 11

New species evolved from within a large population (same region). Can be sudden or gradual

Question 12

Reproductive isolating mechanism

Answer 12

behavioural structural, or biochemical trait that prevents individuals of different species from reproducing successfully together

Question 13

Directional selection

Answer 13

favours individuals with a more extreme variation of a trait ; antlers

Question 14

stabilizing selection

Answer 14

Favours the average phenotype within a population ; weight of a baby 6 - 8 lbs

Question 15

Disruptive selection

Answer 15

Favours individuals with a variation at opposite extremes of a trait

Question 16

sexual selection

Answer 16

Favouring a trait that specifically enhances the meeting success of an individual ; appearance and behaviour

Question 17

artificial selection

Answer 17

The controlled captive breeding process; dogs, crops

Question 18

accidental selection

Answer 18

Human activity has introduced features into the environment causing selection (not natural) ; pollution, oil, spills, pesticides

Question 19

Genetic drift

Answer 19

changes to allele frequency as a result of chance, more pronounced in small populations

Question 20

Genetic bottleneck effect

Answer 20

dramatic reduction in population, resulting in a loss of genetic diversity, more prone to disease

Question 21

Founder effect

Answer 21

small number of individual separate from their original population, and establish a new population; mosquitoes in london

Question 22

adaptive radiation

Answer 22

The relatively rapid evolution of a single species into many new species, filling a variety of formally empty ecological niches; finches

Question 23

Divergent evolution

Answer 23

The large scale of evolution in a group into many different forms
Competition between species is minimized
-Species continue to evolve until most available -resources are used
-increase in biodiversity

Question 24

Convergent evolution

Answer 24

The evolution of similar traits indistinctly related species; sharks and dolphins

Question 25

Co-evolution

Answer 25

A process in which one species evolves in response to the evolution of another species; orchid and moth

Question 26

Theory of gradualism

Answer 26

A theory that attributes large evolutionary changes in species to the accumulation of many small and ongoing changes and processes

Question 27

theory of punctuate equilibrium

Answer 27

A theory that attributes most evolutionary changes to relatively rapid spurts of change, followed by long periods of little or no change

Question 28

Fossils

Answer 28

Any ancient remains impressions or traces of an organism or traces of its activity that have been preserved in rocks or other mineral deposits, in earths crust

Question 29

Natural selection

Answer 29

The way in which nature favours the reproductive success of some individuals within a population over others

Question 30

Evolution

Answer 30

The scientific theory that describes changes and species overtime and their shared ancestry. changes in the genetics of species

Question 31

Theory

Answer 31

Explanatory model that accounts for a very large body of evidence