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Biology > Origin and the History of Life > Flashcards

Origin and the History of Life Flashcards

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AP® Biology flashcards Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

organism

A

Any living entity that contains one or more cells.

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2
Q

What are the general five characteristics of life?

A
  • Energy
  • Cells
  • Information
  • Replication
  • Evolution
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3
Q

theory

A

A proposed explanation for a broad class of phenomena or observations.

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4
Q

cell

A

A highly organized compartment bounded by a thin, flexible structure (plasma membrane) and containing concentrated chemicals in an aqueous (watery) solution. The basic structural and functional unit of all organisms.

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5
Q

cell theory

A

The theory that all organisms are made of cells and that all cells come from preexisting cells.

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6
Q

What are the two general components of scientific theory?

A
  • describes a pattern in the natural world

- mechanism or process that is responsible for that pattern

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6
Q

Evolution

A

(1) The theory that all organisms on Earth are related by common ancestry and that they have changed over time, predominantly via natural selection. (2) Any change in the genetic characteristics of a population over time, especially, a change in allele frequencies.

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7
Q

Natural Selection

A

The process by which individuals with certain heritable traits tend to produce more surviving offspring than do individuals without those traits, often leading to a change in the genetic makeup of the population. A major mechanism of evolution.

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8
Q

heritable

A

Referring to traits that can be transmitted from one generation to the next.

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9
Q

population

A

A group of individuals of the same species living in the same geographic area at the same time.

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10
Q

artificial selection

A

Deliberate manipulation by humans, as in animal and plant breeding, of the genetic composition of a population by allowing only individuals with desirable traits to reproduce.

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11
Q

fitness

A

An organisms ability to survive and replicate

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12
Q

adaptation

A

Any heritable trait that increases the fitness of an individual with that trait, compared with individuals without that trait, in a particular environment.

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13
Q

What are the two central and unifying ideas of biology?

A
  • The cell is the fundamental structural unit in all organisms
  • All species are related by common ancestry and have changed over time in response to natural selection.
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14
Q

speciation

A

The evolution of two or more distinct species from a single ancestral species.

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16
Q

phlogeny

A

The evolutionary history of a group of organisms.

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17
Q

What are the characteristics of a phylogenic tree?

A

-Like a family tree shows relationships between individuals, a phylogenic tree shows relationships between species

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18
Q

taxonomy

A

Any named group of organisms at any level of a classification system.

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19
Q

taxon

A

Any named group of organisms at any level of a classification system.

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20
Q

domain

A

(1) A section of a protein that has a distinctive tertiary structure and function. (2) A taxonomic category, based on similarities in basic cellular biochemistry, above the kingdom level. The three recognized domains are Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.

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21
Q

phylum

A

In Linnaeus’ system, a taxonomic category above the class level and below the kingdom level. In plants, sometimes called a division.

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22
Q

genus

A

In Linnaeus’ system, a taxonomic category of closely related species. Always italicized and capitalized to indicate that it is a recognized scientific genus.

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23
Q

scientific name

A

Name that includes both genus and species name in latin form

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24
Q

fossil

A

Any trace of an organism that existed in the past. Includes tracks, burrows, fossilized bones, casts, etc.

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25
Q

fossil record

A

All of the fossils that have been found anywhere on Earth and that have been formally described in the scientific literature.

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26
Q

How are fossils generally formed?

A

When part or all of an organism is buried under ash, sand, mud or some other type of sediment.

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27
Q

Is fossilization common?

A

No

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28
Q

What are the limitations of Fossil Record?

A

Habitat bias(most likely organisms that lived in areas where sediments are actively being deposited)

  • Taxonomic and Tissue bias(organisms with more hard parts more likely to survive)
  • Temporal bias(recent fossils more common than ancient)
  • Abundance bias(species that survived on earth for greater times leave more evidence)
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29
Q

What was the initial way fossils were categorized into time periods? Modern way?

A

Rock formations or fossilized organisms to identify the boundaries for time intervals. Now radiometric dating used for absolute dates.

30
Q

Precambrian era

A

The interval between the formation of the Earth, about 4.6 billion years ago, and the appearance of most animal groups about 543 million years ago. Unicellular organisms were dominant for most of this era, and oxygen was virtually absent for the first 2 billion years.

31
Q

Paleozoic era

A

The period of geologic time, from 543 million to 250 million years ago, during which fungi, land plants, and animals first appeared and diversified. Began with the Cambrian explosion and ended with the extinction of many invertebrates and vertebrates.

32
Q

Mesozoic era

A

The period of geologic time, from 250 million to 65 million years ago, during which gymnosperms were the dominant plants and dinosaurs the dominant vertebrates. Ended with extinction of the dinosaurs. Also called Age of Reptiles.

33
Q

Cenozoic era

A

The most recent period of geologic time, beginning 65 million years ago. during which mammals became the dominant vertebrates and angiosperms became the dominant plants. Also called Age of Mammals.

34
Q

prebiotic soup

A

A hypothetical solution of sugars, amino acids, nitrogenous bases, and other building blocks of larger molecules that may have formed in shallow waters or deep-ocean vents of ancient Earth and given rise to larger biological molecules.

35
Q

adaptive radiation

A

Rapid evolutionary diversification within one lineage, producing numerous descendant species with a wide range of adaptive forms.

36
Q

What are the three halmarks of adaptive radiation?

A

1) monophyletic group
2) fast speciation
3) diversified ecologically

37
Q

niche

A

The particular set of habitat requirements of a certain species and the role that species plays in its ecosystem.

38
Q

What two mechanisms trigger adaptive radiations?

A
  • new resources

- new ways to exploit new resources

39
Q

Ecological Oppurtunity

A

The availability of new or novel types of resources

40
Q

Why is the evolution of morphological traits so important?

A

Allowed descendents to live in new areas, exploit new sources of food or move in new ways, triggered many of the important diversification events in the history of life

41
Q

Cambrian explosion

A

The rapid diversification of animal body types that began about 543 million years ago and continued for approximately 40 million years.

42
Q

fauna

A

All the animals characteristic of a particular region, period, or environment.

43
Q

What are the three major fossil assemblages of the cambrian explosion?

A
  • doushantuo microfossils(tiny sponges)
  • edicarian faunas(sponges, jellyfish,..)
  • Burgess Shale faunas(most complicated organisms)
44
Q

What triggered the Cambrian explosion?

A
  • higher oxygen levels
  • the evolution of predation
  • new niches beget more new niches
  • new genes, new bodies
45
Q

mass extinction

A

The extinction of a large number of diverse evolutionary groups during a relatively short period of geologic time (about 1 million years). May occur due to sudden and extraordinary environmental changes.

46
Q

background extinction

A

The average rate of low-level extinction that has occurred continuously throughout much of evolutionary history.

47
Q

What are the differences between mass and background extinctions?

A

no set rule or differences, scientists study 5 mass extinctions. However, background extinction is generally regarded as a function of natural selection and mass extinctions a genetic drift.

48
Q

What caused the end-Permian extinction?

A

Unknown, one of the most important unsolved questions in the history of life.

49
Q

Impact hypothesis

A

Asteroid struck the earth and killed 60-80 percent of multicellular organisms around 65 million years ago.

50
Q

Where did the oxygen in earth’s atmoshpere come from?

A

Cyanobacteria

51
Q

cyanobacteria

A

A lineage of photosynthetic bacteria formerly known as blue-green algae. Likely the first life-forms to carry out oxygenic photosynthesis.

52
Q

Why was the evolution of aerobic respiration such a crucial event in the history of life?

A

Because oxygen is extremely electronegative, it is an efficient electron acceptor, more efficient than other substances.

53
Q

nitrogen fixation

A

The incorporation of atmospheric nitrogen (N2) into forms such as ammonia (NH3) or nitrate (NO3–), which can be used to make many organic compounds. Occurs in only a few lineages of bacteria and archaea

54
Q

LUCA

A

Last Universal Common Ancestor

55
Q

What’s the average lifespan of an average species?

A

1-10 million years

56
Q

Evolutionary Radiations

A

Periods of major diversification

57
Q

Who are the Fathers of Geology?

A

James Hulton

Charles Lyell

58
Q

Index Fossils

A

Fossils used to indicate time period of rock formation

59
Q

What are the different eras from oldest to youngest?

A

Precambrian, Paleozoic, mesozoic, cenozoic

60
Q

holotype

A

Physical example of a species

61
Q

Unstable radioisotopes are used for measuring what?

A

Useful for dating igneous rocks

62
Q

What is the key for measurement of radioisotopes?

A

Half-lives

63
Q

Where does the energy for continent movement originate?

A

Core of Earth

64
Q

How were the mega-continents of the past discovered and mapped?

A

Fossil records

65
Q

Formula for decay of radioisotope

A

N = N0 e^-lambda t lambda = decay constant, N = # atoms present

66
Q

half-life

A

time required for half the atoms initially present to decay.

Formula:T(half life) = 0.693/ lambda

67
Q

Type specimen

A

Ideal of species

68
Q

Error rate DNA

A

1 nucleotide per million

69
Q

How many base pairs in humans?

A

3.2 billion

70
Q

Alfred Wallace

A

Scientist who came up with similar ideas to Darwin at same time period. Postulated the occurrence of adaptation in response to natural selection

Biology (15 decks)

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