P1-Topic 4- Natural Selection & Genetic Modification

Question 1

What is this a definition of: ‘A group of organisms that can reproduce with one another, producing offspring that can also reproduce’?

Answer 1

species

Question 2

What is the scientific name for the modern human species?

Answer 2

Homo sapiens

Question 3

From what type of creatures are modern humans thought to have evolved?

Answer 3

apes

Question 4

What are the remains of organisms that have been turned into rock called?

Answer 4

fossils

Question 5

Sedimentary rock exists in layers, one on top of another. Which layers are the youngest?

Answer 5

uppermost

Question 6

Which substances did early human-like animals make tools out of?

Answer 6

wood, stone

Question 7

Why do we only find the stone tools now?

Answer 7

The wooden ones have rotted.

Question 8

Which of these three species is most closely related to modern humans, and how can you tell: habilis, Australopithecus afarensis, Ardipithecus ramidus?

Answer 8

Homo habilis, because the first word of its scientific name is the same as that of modern humans.

Question 9

On which continent are the oldest human-like fossils found?

Answer 9

Africa

Question 10

What is this a definition of: ‘A gradual change in the characteristics of a species over time’?

Answer 10

evolution

Question 11

Where does the evidence come from that humans evolved?

Answer 11

fossils, stone tools

Question 12

Over how many years can scientists trace human evolution?

Answer 12

millions, 4–5 million years

Question 13

Name one trend that has occurred in the bodies of human-like species as they have evolved over millions of years.

Answer 13

walking upright, feet with short toes, larger brains, flatter faces, taller skulls etc.

Question 14

What are the differences in characteristics between two organisms called?

Answer 14

variation

Question 15

One type of variation is ‘environmental variation’, in which the environment causes variation in characteristics. What is the other form of variation called?

Answer 15

inherited variation

Question 16

Suggest one reason why polar bears are better adapted than black bears to living in the Arctic.

Answer 16

sensible suggestion, such as they are white and so can avoid being seen against the snow by their prey

Question 17

What is the name of the scientist who is most well known for developing a theory about evolution?

Answer 17

Charles Darwin

Question 18

Some scientists think that a species called Homo heidelbergensis evolved into both Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens. What is a species that evolves into two species like this called?

Answer 18

common ancestor

Question 19

What is the scientific name for modern humans?

Answer 19

Homo sapiens

Question 20

What do we call the system of scientific naming for organisms?

Answer 20

binomial system

Question 21

Suggest the environmental change that resulted in the evolution of African elephants’ large ears.

Answer 21

increase in temperature – ensure that students realise that the change did not cause the elephants to want to evolve

Question 22

Suggest the environmental change that resulted in the evolution of woolly mammoths’ hairiness.

Answer 22

decrease in temperature

Question 23

A certain population of animals evolved long legs over a long period of time. Is this more likely to be due to an increase or decrease in the number of predators?

Answer 23

increase

Question 24

What process does Darwin’s theory use to explain how evolution occurs?

Answer 24

natural selection

Question 25

The binomial name for the African bush elephant is Loxodonta africana. What genus does it belong to?

Answer 25

Loxodonta

Question 26

Humpback whales and dolphins are thought to have evolved from an animal that lived about 40 million years ago. What is an animal that evolves into different species like this called?

Answer 26

common ancestor

Question 27

What is the name of the other person who came up with the idea of evolution by natural selection at the same time as Darwin?

Answer 27

Alfred Russel Wallace

Question 28

Suggest one way in which the limbs of gorillas, whales and bats are similar.

Answer 28

They all have five fingers; they all have a pentadactyl structure.

Question 29

One branch of biology that has developed thanks to Darwin and Wallace’s theory is the study of genes. What is this branch of biology called?

Answer 29

genetics

Question 30

Elephants belong to the animal kingdom. What other kingdoms are there?

Answer 30

plants, fungi, protists/protoctists, prokaryotes

Question 31

State one way in which the cells of bacteria are different to those of animals, plants, fungi and protists

Answer 31

They have no nucleus/mitochondria/organelles, they have plasmids, they do not have chromosomes [instead they have a loop of chromosomal DNA].

Question 32

Cattle, wheat and mushrooms are all farmed. What kingdoms do they belong to?

Answer 32

cattle – animals, wheat –plants, mushrooms – fungi

Question 33

The scientific name for cattle is Bos taurus. What genus do they belong to?

Answer 33

Bos

Question 34

Wild yaks are Bos mutus. Describe some features of wild yaks.

Answer 34

e.g. hairy coat, horns, stand on four legs, long tail, long face – any sensible suggestions that show that yaks are similar to cattle

Question 35

Bos mutus and Bos taurus share a common ancestor about 1 million years ago. What process caused them to evolve in different ways?

Answer 35

natural selection

Question 36

What domain do Bos mutus and Bos taurus belong to?

Answer 36

Eukarya

Question 37

Why are these two species in the Eukarya domain?

Answer 37

They have nuclei/mitochondria in their cells.

Question 38

Name the other two domains.

Answer 38

Bacteria, Archaea

Question 39

The three-domain system was developed because while Archaea looked like bacteria/prokaryotes they had other characteristics more like plants and animals. What were these other characteristics?

Answer 39

They have genes containing unused sections of DNA.

Question 40

There are about 800 different types of farm cattle that all belong to the same species. What is the name for different types of the same species of animal?

Answer 40

breeds

Question 41

What is the name for different types of the same species of plant?

Answer 41

varieties

Question 42

What term describes humans choosing certain organisms because they have useful characteristics?

Answer 42

artificial selection

Question 43

What is the name of the process in which new breeds and varieties of organisms are created using artificial selection?

Answer 43

selective breeding

Question 44

Give an example of a species of animal that has been produced by selective breeding.

Answer 44

any sensible suggestion, e.g. dogs

Question 45

What word describes all the DNA in an organism?

Answer 45

genome

Question 46

What is the name of the process in which genes from one organism are transferred into the genome of another organism?

Answer 46

genetic engineering

Question 47

What three-letter abbreviation is given to organisms that have been genetically engineered?

Answer 47

GMO

Question 48

What word describes the amount of useful product that can be obtained from a farmed plant or animal?

Answer 48

yield

Question 49

Suggest a characteristic that would be useful in a new variety of lettuce.

Answer 49

any sensible suggestion, eg. better taste, quicker growing, greater yield, disease resistance

Question 50

Suggest a characteristic that would be useful in a new breed of sheep.

Answer 50

any sensible suggestion, e.g. leaner meat, quicker growing, greater yield, disease resistance, ability to withstand certain conditions, more wool