M 3.1 Evolution

Question 1

What is a common misconception about human evolution?

Answer 1

Humans do not come from monkeys, but both species share a common ancestor.

Question 2

Who famously said, “Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution”?

Answer 2

Theodosius Dobzhansky in 1973.

Question 3

What was the Fixity of Species theory?

Answer 3

The theory that species do not change and were created as they are now.

Question 4

What evidence contradicted the Fixity of Species?

Answer 4

Fossils of extinct animals and vestigial structures like the whale’s pelvis, which suggests species do change over time.

Question 5

What is Lamarck’s ‘complexifying force’?

Answer 5

The idea that all life evolves towards greater complexity, from microbes to humans.

Question 6

What is Lamarck’s principle of use and disuse?

Answer 6

If an organism uses an organ more or less, the organ changes during its lifetime (e.g., a giraffe’s neck growing longer).

Question 7

What is Lamarck’s idea of inheritance of acquired characters?

Answer 7

Traits developed during an organism’s lifetime, like a longer neck, could be passed on to its offspring.

Question 8

What did Darwin observe about finches on the Galapagos Islands?

Answer 8

Each island’s finches had different beaks adapted to their environment, such as seed-eating or cactus-piercing beaks.

Question 9

What did Darwin propose as the mechanism for adaptation?

Answer 9

Natural selection.

• DARWIN

Question 10

What is the first postulate of natural selection?

Answer 10

Individuals within a species vary in their traits.

Question 11

What is the second postulate of natural selection?

Answer 11

Traits are heritable and passed from parents to offspring.

Question 12

What is the third postulate of natural selection?

Answer 12

Organisms compete for limited resources, and not all survive or reproduce.

Question 13

What is the fourth postulate of natural selection?

Answer 13

Survival and reproduction are influenced by traits that help organisms survive and reproduce.

Question 14

What is the fifth postulate of natural selection?

Answer 14

Natural selection modifies populations over time, favoring traits that improve survival and reproduction.

Question 15

What are adaptations?

Answer 15

Traits that increase an organism’s chances of survival and reproduction, becoming common in a population over time.

Question 16

What is an example of convergent evolution in adaptations?

Answer 16

Penguins, whales, manatees, and turtles all have flippers that evolved independently to help them swim.

Question 17

What is sexual selection?

Answer 17

A form of natural selection where organisms with traits preferred by potential mates are more likely to reproduce, like peacock feathers.

Question 18

What is artificial selection?

Answer 18

Humans selecting and breeding organisms with desirable traits, such as the variety of dog breeds or the cultivation of corn from teosinte.

Question 19

What fossil serves as a transitional link between dinosaurs and birds?

Answer 19

Archaeopteryx, a dinosaur with feathers and wings like a bird.

Question 20

How does anatomy provide evidence for evolution?

Answer 20

Similar structures, like the bones in a bat’s wings and a human’s arms, suggest a common origin.

Question 21

What does embryology suggest about evolution?

Answer 21

The similar features in vertebrate embryos, such as tails in human embryos, indicate a common ancestor.

Question 22

How does natural selection lead to antibiotic resistance?

Answer 22

Organisms with mutations that resist antibiotics survive and reproduce, passing the resistance to their offspring.