Theme 3

Question 1

What is evolution

Answer 1

Change in allele frequencies over time

Question 2

How does variation of traits lead to natural selection

Answer 2

Variation in traits —> different reproductive success —> inheritance

Question 3

How did Darwin come up with the concept of natural selection

Answer 3

Inspired by others who discovered concepts related to the idea that certain traits are favoured and how they are passed down

Question 4

What did Curvier discover (1709-1832)

Answer 4

Most species are already extinct

Question 5

What did Lyell (1797-1875) discover

Answer 5

Earth was much older then previously thought
Landforms we’re not fixed but they could change slowly as a result of geological processes

Question 6

What did Lamarck (1744-1829) discover

Answer 6

Believed that species changed over time, transmutation

Question 7

What is Lamarckism

Answer 7

Acquired traits can be inherited and lost through disuse

Question 8

What did Malthus (176h-1834) discover

Answer 8

Came up with the idea of competition for survival (survival of the fittest)

Question 9

What did Wallace (1823-1913) do

Answer 9

Came up with the theory of natural selection on his own after Darwin, pushed Darwin to publish his own work on the subject

Question 10

What is biological diversity

Answer 10

Reflects an interaction between the forms that preceded a species (an ongoing process of change)

Question 11

What are the four big ideas that inspired Darwin

Answer 11

1) some species survive while others go extinct
2) the earth must be much older then believed, and undergoing change
3) species themselves must be capable of changing
4) there must be a pressure to force adaptation

Question 12

How did Darwin’s finches help prove natural selection

Answer 12

Darwin noticed species on islands quite close together were very different from island to island (the closer they were geographically, the more similar the species were to one another)
Very little gene flow between islands (birds rarely move between the mainland and the islands)
Lots of endemic species
Large and deep beaks were favoured, these were heritable traits

Question 13

What is an endemic species

Answer 13

Species found nowhere else on earth

Question 14

What is a transposable element

Answer 14

Biological agent that can cause mutations

Question 15

What is convergent evolution

Answer 15

Independent evolution of comparable traits in unrelated species

Question 16

What did Linnaeus do

Answer 16

Introduced bionimial nomenclature where similar looking species are grouped together

Question 17

What were Darwin’s 3 major observations

Answer 17

1) geology and fossil record
2) geographic distribution of species
3) comparative morphology of species

Question 18

What are vestigial structures

Answer 18

Body parts with no apparent function

Question 19

What are population genetics

Answer 19

Importance of genetic variation as the raw material of evolution
Mathematical models to symbolize evolution