Lesson 1:

Question 1

Characteristics of life

Answer 1

•1. Living things are organized systems made up of one or more cells
• 2. Living things metabolize matter and energy
• 3. Living things interact with their environment and are homeostatic.
• 4. Living things grow and develop.
• 5. Living things reproduce themselves.
• 6. Living things are adapted to their surroundings.

Question 2

Biodiversity

Answer 2

•The variety of living things (species) in a given area.
• An “area” could be as large as the Earth or as small as a puddle.
• It is estimated that Earth contains somewhere between 5 and 30 million different species.
• Only 1.5 million have been classified

Question 3

Species

Answer 3

• A species is defined as a reproductive community of populations that occupies a specific niche.
• A species is reproductively isolated from other species.
• Species are defined by their genetic integrity.
They share DNA with each other not with other species.

Question 4

The problems- 1. Hybrids

Answer 4

1. Hybrids
   A large number of species can interbreed creating a sterile hybrid OR a
   “temporarily” viable hybrid.
   Ex. Mules, Roses, Finches

Question 5

The problems- 2. Wide phenotypic variation

Answer 5

Some species have a wide range of phenotypes. It is difficult to determine initially that they share a common gene pool.

Question 6

The problems- 3. Ring Species

Answer 6

A ring species is a ring of
populations in which there is only one place where two distinct species meet.
• At one location in the ring of populations, two distinct forms coexist without interbreeding, and hence are different species.
• Around the rest of the ring, the traits of one of these species change gradually, through intermediate populations, into the traits of the second species.
—>Example: Greenish Warbler