Module #8 Test

Question 1

Immutability

Answer 1

The idea that each individual species on the planet was specially created by God and could never fundamentally change

Question 2

Microevolution

Answer 2

The theory that natural selection can, over time, take an organism and transform it into a more specialized species of that organism

Question 3

Macroevolution

Answer 3

The hypothesis that processes similar to those at work in microevolution can, over eons of time, transform an organism into a completely different kind of organism

Question 4

Strata

Answer 4

Distinct layers of rock

Question 5

Fossils

Answer 5

Preserved remains of once-living organism

Question 6

Paleontology

Answer 6

The study of fossils

Question 7

Structural homology

Answer 7

The study of similar structures in different species

Question 8

Where did Darwin do most of the work that led to his hypothesis of evolution?

Answer 8

While he was on board the HMS Beagle.

Question 9

Did Darwin ever recant his scientific beliefs?

Answer 9

No

Question 10

What was the main idea that Thomas Malthus’s work gave to Darwin?

Answer 10

Malthus believed in a constant struggle for survival

Question 11

What was the main idea that Sir. Charles Lyell’s work gave to Darwin?

Answer 11

Lyell came up with the idea that the present is the key to the past.

Question 12

What age-old concept was Darwin able to dispel with his research?

Answer 12

Darwin dispelled the idea of the immutability of the species. He showed that species did change

Question 13

What is the main difference between microevolution and macroevolution?

Answer 13

Microevolution: The same genetic code exists throughout the change. The changes that occur are simply the results of variation within the genetic code.

Macroevolution: Information must be added to the genetic code essentially creating a new genetic code.

Question 14

Name two creatures that macroevolutionists clam are intermediate links and explain why they are not really intermediate links.

Answer 14

(1) Australopithecus afarensis:{supposed link between man and ape; however, every bone found in creature indicates it is an ape}. (2) Archaeopteryx:
{supposed link between birds and reptiles; however, the fossils tell us it is just a bird}

Question 15

What is the Cambrian explosion?

Answer 15

Refers to the fact that every major animal phylum in creation can be found in Cambrian rock; thus there was an “explosion” of life.

Question 16

Why is the Cambrian explosion a problem for macroevolution?

Answer 16

1: There is no way macroevolutionist can understand how macroevolution proceeded so quickly during those times.

Question 17

Four ways a bacterium can become resistant to an antibiotic

Answer 17

Conjugation, transformation, transduction, or mutation

Question 18

If a bacterium has a mutation that makes it resistant to an antibiotic, does information get added to its genetic code?

Answer 18

No. Information is actually destroyed, leading to non-working systems that just happen to make bacterium resistant.

Question 19

What main problem with Darwin’s hypothesis did neo-Darwinsim hope to solve?

Answer 19

They hoped to provide a mechanism by which information could be added to the genetic code.

Question 20

What problem with Darwin’s hypothesis did punctuated equilibrium attempt to solve?

Answer 20

Attempts to explain away the fact that the fossil record is devoid of any real intermediate links

Question 21

How would an adherent to punctuated equilibrium explain the lack of intermediate links in the fossil record?

Answer 21

He would say that since the transition from species to species takes such a short amount of time, there is virtually no chance of an intermediate link being fossilized

Question 22

What problems mentioned in this module still exist for those who think the evidence supports punctuated equilibrium?

Answer 22

Structural homology and molecular biology still say that macroevolution (even by punctuated equilibrium) could not have happened.