Unit 4 (Evolution- History, Mechanisms, Speciation, Origin of Life, Macroevolution)🧡 Flashcards

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1
Q

Define Evolution.

A

Change of allele frequencies over time.

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2
Q

What is the #1 mechanism by which Evolution occurs?

A

Natural Selection

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3
Q

How old is the Earth today?

A

4.6 Billion Years Old

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4
Q

How old are the….
1. Oldest bacterial fossils
2. Oldest multicellular fossils
3. Oldest Vertebrate fossils
4. Dinosaurs

A
  1. 3.6 Billion
  2. 2 Billion
  3. 500 Million
  4. 200-65 Million
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5
Q

How old are the…
1. First campfires
2. First modern Humans
3. First cities

A
  1. 1 Million
  2. 250 Thousand
  3. 10 Thousand
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6
Q

What were two incorrect views of those in the 19th century, regarding evolution?

A
  1. They believed the Earth was about 6000 years old.
  2. The Earth/it’s creatures don’t change or go extinct.
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7
Q

Around the mid 19th century new evidence arose to challenge existing belief. What are the four new bits of evidence?

A
  1. Geological evidence=Earth changes
  2. Fossil evidence of extinct organisms were found consistently in similar layers of rock.
  3. Diversity yet consistency in organisms
  4. Over population is inevitable mathematically
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8
Q

What are the five types of organism fossils we find in the strata? In order from oldest to newest.

A
  1. Prokaryotes (single cells)
  2. Multicellular
  3. Inverters (no spine)
  4. Vertebrates (spine)
  5. Humans
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9
Q

What are two patterns scientists in the 19th century noticed across species?

A
  1. Anatomy
  2. Embryos
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10
Q

What is Comparative Anatomy? What did they find?

A
  1. This is the study of comparing the skeletal features of different organisms.
  2. All vertebrates share skeletal similarities.
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11
Q

What is a Vestigial Structure?

A

An anatomical structure that has since lost it’s function, but remained during the process the evolution.

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12
Q

What are five examples of vestigial structures?

A
  1. Leg/hip bones in whales and snakes
  2. Auditory canals in whales
  3. Airfoil shaped wings in flightless birds
  4. Functionless eyes in cave animals
  5. Molars in vampire bats
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13
Q

What is Comparative Embryology? What patterns have we noticed?

A
  1. The comparing of embryos of different species.
  2. Many embryos show similarities, but many are lost before birth.
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14
Q

List the three examples of embryos with traits that show evolutionary change.

A
  1. Baleen Whales- embryos have teeth
  2. Whales- embryos have hair, leg buds, pinnae
  3. Humans- embryos have tails, gils
    (These traits are lost before birth)
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15
Q

Who is Thomas Malthus and why is he important?

A

Malthus is a 19th century scientist who published a book discussing that overpopulation is inevitable.
Why?- (not enough food for the growing populace)

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16
Q

When did Charles Darwin live?

A

1809-1882

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17
Q

What was the title of the book Darwin published? What year was it published?

A
  1. On the Origin of Species
  2. 1859
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18
Q

What did Darwin propose and discuss in “The Origin of Species?”

A
  1. Gave tons of evidence for Evolution
  2. Proposed “Natural Selection” as the mechanism that causes evolution.
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19
Q

Somebody else proposed the “Natural Selection” theory alongside Charles Darwin? Who was it?

A

A.R Wallace

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20
Q

What is Selective Breeding?

A

Breeding an animal in order to pick for a specific wanted trait. (Done by humans)

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21
Q

What are the four Mechanisms of Evolution?

A
  1. Mutation
  2. Immigration & Emigration
  3. Genetic Drift
  4. Natural Selection
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22
Q

What is Mutation?

A

When the sequence of DNA changes

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23
Q

What is an Allele?

A

A variant of a gene

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24
Q

What is Gene Flow?

A

Movement in genetic material from one population to another.

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25
Q

What is Genetic Drift?

A

Change in allele frequencies due to chance. (Like a freak fire, leaving only some rats alive)
-Also known as the “Bottleneck Effect”

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26
Q

Why do smaller populations have a LARGER chance of genetic drift?

A

In larger populations, if 1/4 is killed, then odds are there is enough genetic variation in the other 3/4 to prevent any drastic genetic drift.

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27
Q

What is Natural Selection?

A

Change in allele frequencies due to a change in their fitness.
(Red rats don’t live to maturity-they can’t pass on their genes)

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28
Q

What does it mean by biological “Fitness?”

A

The ability to produce successful offspring (pass on your genes)

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29
Q

Walk yourself through how natural selection works.

A

-More offspring are born than survive, and offspring vary genetically.
-Some variations increase survivability (fitness), and then are passed on to the next generation.
-So on.

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30
Q

What is Differential Reproductive Success?

A

The case in which some groups have more surviving offspring than others. (They succeeded in reproducing a positive difference.)

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31
Q

Who is Lamark and when did he live?

A
  1. Lamark was a scientist that proposed a theory of evolution before Darwin.
  2. (1744-1829)
32
Q

What did Lamark propose? What was his theory called?

A
  1. He argued that organisms gained or lost characteristics during their life, and then passed these characteristics (or lack thereof) to their offspring.
  2. “Use or disuse”
33
Q

What is Speciation?

A

The forming of new species.

34
Q

What is a “Species.”

A

Defined as a population that is reproductively isolated from other groups. They only interbreed within their own group. (owls with owls-no other birds)

35
Q

What the problem with our defintion of “Species?”

A

It’s not good for organisms that reproduce asexually.

36
Q

How are some ways speciation occurs?

A
  1. Allopatric Speciation
  2. Sympatric Speciation
37
Q

What is Allopatric Speciation?

A

Speciation caused by geographic isolation.

38
Q

What is Sympatric Speciation? What organisms do this?

A

This is when one species turns into two distinct species without geographic isolation.
2. Common in plants, but rare in animals

39
Q

What did Stanley Miller do? When?

A
  1. He proved (and showed) that you can make organic molecules from inorganic molecules if energy is supplied.
  2. 1953
40
Q

What was Stanley Miller’s process to create life?

A
  1. Gather inorganic molecules (water, methane, ammonia, hydrogen)
  2. Add energy (heat/electricity)
  3. Tada (amino acids, nucleotides, ATP, lipids)
41
Q

How did DNA form?

A

Monomers will sometimes spontaneously turn into polymers and polymers of nucleotides=DNA.

42
Q

Give four types of evidence for macroevolution. (General)

A
  1. DNA Evidence
  2. Comparative Anatomy
  3. Comparative Embryology
  4. The Fossil Record
43
Q

Give three types of evidence for evolution, regarding DNA.

A
  1. Universal conservation of the genetic code
  2. Conservation of gene and protein sequence ❤️
  3. Shared functionless DNA
44
Q

What does it mean when we say there is “Universal Conservation of the Genetic Code?”

A

-We all share a similar genetic code
-It would be more advantageous for us to all have different codes. Sicknesses wouldn’t cross over species.

45
Q

What do we mean when we say there is “Conservation of Gene & Protein Sequences?”

A

The more similar two species are, the more similar their DNA and protein sequences are as well.
(huh? ❤️)

46
Q

What is Shared Functionless DNA?

A

DNA that has no current function for an organism, yet remains.

47
Q

What are two examples of Shared Functionless DNA?

A
  1. Pseudogene for Vitamin C Synthesis
  2. Shared Endogenous Retroviruses
48
Q

What is a Pseudogene?

A

A mutated gene shared by all members of a species.

49
Q

In what organisms can the pseudogene for vitamin c-synthesis be found?

A

All primates (monkey, humans, lemurs, etc)

50
Q

What is a Retrovirus?

A

A virus that inserts their DNA into their host’s DNA at a specific location.

51
Q

What is an Endogenous Retrovirus?

A

These are viruses that infected the DNA of reproductive cells of human ancestors, and are now in the DNA of all humans.

52
Q

How do Endogenous Retroviruses help us dictate genetic closeness between species?

A

Some genetic mutations are shared by some species-but not others.
(We can map them out by similarity and disimilarity.)

53
Q

What are the two of methods of dating fossils?

A
  1. Absolute Dating (specific time period)
  2. Relative Dating (before x, but after y)
54
Q

What did Relative Dating look like?

A

Fossils found in deeper sediments were deemed older than ones found in more surface sediment.

55
Q

What are the three types of Absolute Dating?

A
  1. Tree Ring Data
  2. Ice core data
  3. Radiometric dating
56
Q

How was the gene for Vitamin C synthesis rendered unable to function?

A

A mutation occurred in which a single nucleotide was deleted from a codon.
[ACG] mutation [AG]

57
Q

What is Tree Ring Dating? How far in the past can we observe using this kind of data?

A
  1. The study of the past through the analysis of tree rings.
  2. We can see back about 12,000 years.
58
Q

What is Dendrochronology?

A

Tree Ring Dating

59
Q

What is Ice Core Data? How far in the past can we observe using this kind of data?

A
  1. The study of the past through the analysis of extracted layers of ice.
  2. Up to a million years ago.
60
Q

What is an Isotope?

A

Variations of the same element.
-Atoms with the same amount of protons, but a slightly different number of neutrons.

61
Q

What is a radioisotope?

A

An isotope that is radioactive.

62
Q

Why do radioisotopes “decay?”

A

Radioisotopes are volatile, and are constantly giving off/getting rid of excess energy.

63
Q

What is Potassium-Argon Dating?

A

A form of radiometric dating.

64
Q

Potassium 40
1. Notation
2. Volatile or stable
3. Form of matter

A
  1. 40K
  2. A radioisotope (volatile)
  3. Solid
65
Q

Argon-40
1. Notation
2. Volatile or stable
3. Form of matter

A
  1. 40Ar
  2. Stable
  3. A gas
66
Q

What does Potassium 40 decay into? How long is it’s half life?

A
  1. Argon 40
  2. 1.3 billion years
    (It decays by shedding neutrons-so how does it become another element? Does it shed protons too?❤️)
67
Q

What is a half life? Give an example of how this works.

A

How long it takes for an isotope to reach half-decay of it’s original mass.
(beginning=100%)
1.3 billion
(50%)
1.3 billion
(25%)
1.3 billion
(12.5%)
(Are all isotopes constantly decaying? Is it just radioisotopes? ❤️)

68
Q

What do we use Potassium-Argon dating to figure out the age of?

A

Rocks?

69
Q

How do we use Potassium-Argon dating to figure out the age of rocks?

A

We measure the ratios of Potassium and Argon in rocks.
Potassium decays to become Argon. Argon (a gas) becomes trapped in solid rocks.

70
Q

Does lava contain Potassium 40? Argon 40?

A
  1. Yes. There is always a quantity of potassium in lava.
  2. No because liquids cannot contain gas.
71
Q

What is the general ratio of K/Ar in old rock vs. new rock?

A
  1. Old rock has a low ratio because most of the Potassium has converted to Argon. (1:30)
  2. New rock has mostly potassium as it hasn’t begun to convert to argon. (30:1)
72
Q

What kind of rock can we use potassium-argon dating to measure?

A

Igneous rock (solidified lava)

73
Q

What kind of rocks are fossils found in?

A

Sedimentary rocks

74
Q

How do we use Potassium-Argon dating on fossils?

A

Igneous rocks are usually found near sedimentary rocks. So we can get a general vibe of their age. (Is this true?❤️)

75
Q

What do we mean when we say a “High Degree of Confidence?”

A

This is what we say when multiple scientific methods lead to the same conclusion.