how evolution works Flashcards
what are some differences between humans and some of our closest primate relatives (chimpanzees)
chimps:
- hair everywhere
- quadrupedal
- smaller brains
- simpler communication
- more advanced infants
- smaller brain:body ratio
why do humans have less hair than primates
adaptations to make our sweating an effective way to release heat
why do humans have an arched foot
for running ability
why do humans have a hyoid bone
for vocal speech production
why do humans have an opposable thumb
to carry things and make tools
T/F adaptations can be specific to local environments
TRUE
what are some byproducts that have been created as a result of human adaptations
shelter
family structures
food production systems
group systems/societies
describe the most important features that make up SCIENCE
a process
empirically verifiable information
system of hypothesis testing
experiments
updates to general understanding (public discourse)
T/F philosophy, induction, religion, math are all other knowledge productions
TRUE
induction is experience btw
what was the emission theory of vision
TRASHBIN THEORY where people believed that eyes send out invisible beams that reflect on everything to show an image of whats in front of you
what was the theory of spontaneous generation
TRASHBIN THEORY where people believed that living things could appear from nonliving things
how did the theory of spontaneous generation come to be, and why wasn’t it proven wrong
scientists had observations that went along with this theory and other similar theories, BUT THEY LACKED SCIENCE to be able to prove or disprove this theory with systematic testing of their hypotheses
why is newton creditted with disproving the emission theory of vision and not ibn al-haytham
there was no science when al-haytham disproved it, so there was no SPREADING OF INFO TO THE PUBLIC DISCOURSE
what step is missing in the method of science:
- observation
- questioning
- predictions
- experiment
- inferences
- sharing/replicating/concensus
between questioning and predictions, there are HYPOTHESIZING that has to happen.
what are the method steps of science
OQHPEISRC
our queen hears prince eric is sharing routine cuddles
observation
questioning
hypothesize
prediction
experiment
inference
sharing/replicating/concensus
what two things must be true of a hypothesis
it must be TESTABLE and FALSIFIABLE
T/F if the experiment doesn’t disprove the hypothesis, then it proves it
FALSE it only supports it, but does not show guaranteed proof that the hypothesis is true
what is a theory in general terms
a guess/tentative suggestion
what is a theory in science terms
a group of mutually consistent hypotheses that have withstood repeated attempts at rejection
what was redi’s experiment to refute the spontaneous theory of generation
REDI MEAT
jars with meat, half open/closed so maggots can lay eggs. maggots appeared from open jar not closed jar, so he concluded that they dont just spontaneously appear from meat.
t/f redi disproved the theory of spontaneous generation
FALSE he disproved that maggots spontaneously appear from meat, but cannot prove that the theory as a whole is false
what was needham’s experiment related to spontaneous generation
HAM NEEDS MORE BROTH
he boiled broth to kill anything that was already in it, but microbes appeared in both open and closed container.
he thought this proved spontaneity again
what was pasteur’s experiment related to spontaneous generation and the result
boiled broth, but this time used curved flask to show that when outside air couldn’t get in, the microbes did not appear. when outside air did get in, the microbes did appear.
THIS DISPROVED SPONTANEOUS GENERATION WITH A BOOK!
what is a peer review
an editor may send the manuscript of completed experiments and data to an expert in the subject to be reviewed for any suggests or things that were done wrong.
T/F all publications end up in general science journals
FALSE, there are some general science ones like Nature and Science, but others that are more specific in specialty journals like Current Biology and Evolution & Human Behavior
what was the early view about how the species were ordered called
the great chain of beings that was a ladder of intellect ending with angels and gods
T/F some early views of species included that they were immutable (fixed) and permanent and earth is not very old
TRUE these were common thoughts, but were later disproved
who were some prominent scientists before darwin and their beliefs
hutton & lyell thought earth must be really old
mary anning was a fossil hunter who believed in evolution
what did jean baptiste lamark believe in
- external pressure will make an animal change during its lifetime
- these traits are immediately passed down to the offspring
- traits that help an organism survive will tend to persist
- giraffe example
what is wrong about jean baptiste lamark’s theory
your acquired traits dont get immediately passed on to children
and he thought evolution was based on an end goal
what did malthus believe
species could out populate their resources.
populations can increase so rapidly, so why don’t the resources run out
who took a 5 year voyage around the world as a naturalist (collecting samples) set up by his father
charles darwin
T/F darwin finds fossils of marine animals in the mountains
TRUE in the andes
T/F darwin found fossils of giant armadillos
TRUE
what did darwin realize about islands
that the distribution of animals on the islands didn’t match what was found on the main land
- different variations of animals
- missing animals
what was the finch experiment that darwin studied
this was where darwin came up with evolution by natural selection.
- some finches on the galapagos islands were very similar but still partially different from the ones of the mainland
- he studied their beak widths, lengths, and feet size
- concluded that since they couldn’t cross breed, they must have had traits develop independently based on their survival needs that evolved separately
what is natural selection
theory that natural pressures from environment can cause a species to change without an end goal
what is artificial selection
humans will select traits that are beneficial to us, so we influence the breeding and reproduction of these traits in organisms
who was alfred wallace
he also thought of the idea of natural selection but sent it to darwin, who then said hey i also found this so they co-published this theory together
what is the main difference between natural and artificial selection
artificial selection has a main GOAL, whereas natural selection does not have any goal
what is evolution
the change in frequency of a trait over time
what are darwins three postulates called
- struggle for existence
- variation in features and survival
- variation is heritable
what does darwin’s “struggle for existence” postulate mean
populations have the ability to grow exponentially, but NATURAL CHECKS keep the population steady
- predators
- sickness
- food access
so population size remains about stable
what does darwin’s “variation in features and survival” postulate mean
traits will vary, and the most advantageous traits will be more likely to produce offspring
what does darwin’s “variation is heritable” postulate mean
offspring will inherit traits that make them more likely to survive
disadvantageous traits will likely be weeded out bc adults wont even survive long enough to reproduce or future generations with that trait wont
what are the three types of natural selection and what do they mean
directional: population traits shift in one direction (whole population changes from old to new)
stabilizing: averaging traits and eliminating outliers
disruptive: something disrupts the population so traits split with some getting one and some getting another trait
what is a better saying than “Survival of the Fittest” and why
reproduction of the fittest because a better fit to the environment will be more likely to reproduce and continue this trait, survival is part but not for the population as a whole
T/F natural selection is a mechanism that affects the species as a whole
FALSE natural selection only operates on a singular level, from parent to offspring, not across an entire species or population
T/F evolution is linear
FALSE if you think of a tree with many branches and roads going off of one to make others with branches, it would not be directly turning one species into another
T/F natural selection is a moral prescription
FALSE natural selection is facts
it is not good/bad should/shouldn’t debate
what is naturalistic fallacy
believing that everything that is nature or happens naturally is good and should happen that way
ex of when this is wrong: poison ivy is natural, but it obviously not good
T/F survival of the fittest is wrong because survival is only useful if it leads to reproduction
TRUE the phrase should be reproduction of the fittest because it is not useful if not producing offspring
T/F some species are more evolved than others
FALSE at this moment in time, all species are the exact same amount of “evolved”, but some populations had different adaptations than others that allowed them to be more progressed/developed/capable of language and concepts
T/F humans are evolutionarily unique
FALSE they are different and unusual than other organisms, but this is not because of a change in evolution
T/F natural selection is goal-oriented
FALSE it does not have a goal and will continue on and on
T/F natural selection is random
FALSE the mutations are random, but natural selection itself is not random
T/F all scientists believe that natural selection is real
TRUE they do not fight if it is true or not, but they can sometimes fight about the details
natural selection is overwhelmingly supported because of the mass amount of evidence that has not disproved it
T/F evolution is done
FALSE it will never end
T/F reproductive success is leaving more copies of your genes in subsequent generations that others do
TRUE and reproductive success is NOT having as many kids as possible
reproductive success just means that a parent must transfer their genes to their offspring, who will in the future also become parents
T/F natural selection favors what is good for the species
FALSE it is based on an individual level of adaptations for one individual to be able to successfully reproduce
T/F “fit” means traits that will help an individual progress into the next generation and have offspring
TRUE it is not solely about being the strongest or biggest, because it may be more beneficial to be small to hide or less colorful to camouflage in order to get to reproduction
what is a complex adaptation
adaptations that are too complex to just appear, but will develop through multiple adaptations over time
ex: an eye formation from nothing couldn’t just appear in one lifetime, it needed to have a crevice then start the formation which would take many many generations to do
T/F adaptations are suboptimal
TRUE in many cases, the result of adaptations is not the PERFECT DESIGN, but it works to get the job done and was how it adapted over time, without a sought out plan to come from it
what are selection pressures
anything that influences the survival or reproduction in a proportion of a population
what is optimality and why does natural selection produce it
optimality is a result that is the best result given the least amount of energy put in. think like being lazy and not studying for a test, then the highest score you can get is a 50%, but you do get the 50% so you got the highest possible for you to get as a result of the lowest energy being put in
natural selection produces optimality because it doesn’t have a goal, so it isn’t able to put in loads of effort all at once to adapt to form a perfectly designed trait
what is an obligate adaptation and an example
a trait that is expressed in the same way regardless of the environment
ex: everyone has an achilles heel and eyes, so this won’t be affected by whether you live in a brighter or darker place
what is facultative adaptation and an example and the nickname
a trait that requires input from the environment (an if-then interaction)
ex: if there is repeated contact on the skin with a rough surface, then calluses will form to protect the skin from this pain again
nickname: phenotypic plasticity
what are three things that darwin could not answer about genetics
- where does variation come from
- how does inheritance of traits work
- how is variation maintained if natural selection eliminates it
what is blending inheritance
each parent contributes equally to the offspring
why is blending inheritance less than favorable
some advantageous traits will be diluted bc there is a chance that the offspring wont inherit it if only one parent has it
what did mendel do
he figured out how inheritance works
what plant did mendel use to figure out inheritance
green and yellow pea plants that could be wrinkly or smooth as well
what color and texture was dominant for the pea plants
yellow was dominant and smooth was dominant
T/F a yellow and green plant bred together would create a hybrid yellow-green colored pea plant
FALSE they don’t mix, it would be either yellow or green based on dominance