Intro to Evolution

Question 1

evolution

Answer 1

genetic change in a population over time

occurs at population level

Question 2

population

Answer 2

a group of organisms of the same species living in the same place at the same time

Question 3

creationism

Answer 3

belief that all living things (organisms) are a result of divine intervention

Question 4

LaMark

Answer 4

late 1700s: offered mechanism for evolution of use/disuse (acquired characteristics)

ex. giraffe’s long neck stretches to reach trees and passes to offspring

Question 5

Darwin

Answer 5

1858: presented natural selection as method for evolution (descent w/ modification)

Question 6

Darwin life facts

Answer 6

went to med. school but switched to theology after 18 years

naturalist on surveying voyage

received a letter from Wallace considering natural selection as basis of evolution

same yr. presented theory at Linnean Society

Question 7

natural selection

Answer 7

process in which a subset of a population possesses a genetic trait that makes them more fit

occurs at individual level

Question 8

Darwinian fitness

Answer 8

organism’s ability to produce fertile offspring

Question 9

morphology

Answer 9

physical appearance of an organism

Question 10

phylogeny

Answer 10

evolutionary relatedness

Question 11

analogus

Answer 11

structures that have similar function/morphology but don’t arise from common ancestral traits

ex. wing of a bird vs. wing of a butterfly

Question 12

homologus

Answer 12

came from a common ancestor that diverged to fit different functions of structure that are needed to fit the environment (divergent evolution)

ex. forearm limbs of mammals (whale’s fin, bat’s wing, human’s arm)

Question 13

qualitative criteria used to evaluate evolution

Answer 13

population must have genetic variation

trait under evolution must be heritable

there must be competition for resources

the subsets that survive/reproduce is not random

Question 14

allele

Answer 14

alternate version of the same gene

Question 15

gene pool

Answer 15

all the copies of that gene in a population (diploid 2 copies)

Question 16

evolution support for Darwin

Answer 16

species do become extinct

vestigial (loss of function) traits

living organisms often found in the same place as ancestral fossil species (ex. armadillo)