Why Evolution is True and Early Evo Bio

Question 1

What is EVOLUTION?

Answer 1

Evolution is the change in the frequency of alleles in a population over time

Question 2

What is the concept of Common Descent?

Answer 2

The relatedness among all organisms

Question 3

Homologous trait

Answer 3

Similar trait among different species because of inheritance from a common ancestor

Question 4

Variation in form and function among species can be attributed to 3 reasons:

Answer 4

mutation, genetic drift, natural selection

Question 5

Why evolution is true (1)
- A ____ explanation for both ____and ____

Answer 5

single; similarities; variations

Question 6

Why evolution is true (2)
No other explanation is as ___ (the most popular alternative is infinitely ____)

Answer 6

simple; complex

Question 7

Why evolution is true (3)
No other ____ has been supported by the ____ ____

Answer 7

Hypothesis; scientific method

Question 8

Hypothesis

Answer 8

Untested ideas based on observations; usually NARROW in scope

Question 9

Theories

Answer 9

Explanations that incorporate facts, laws, inferences, and/or other hypotheses; usually BIG in scope.

Question 10

Facts

Answer 10

Observations that have been repeatedly confirmed and are accepted as “true”

Question 11

Laws

Answer 11

Descriptive generalizations about nature
*Usually logical or rigid in some way.

Question 12

Phylogenetic tree

Answer 12

Diagram of evolutionary relationships among a group of organisms

Question 13

What does the root on a phylogenetic tree represent?

Answer 13

The ancestor of all species in the tree

Question 14

What does the nodes on a phylogenetic tree represent?

Answer 14

The ancestor of the species that belong to a single clade

Question 15

What is a clade?

Answer 15

The species that share a common ancestor (tips that share a single node)

Question 16

2 different representation of the branches on a phylogenetic tree

Answer 16

Scaled / unscaled

Question 17

Scaled branches

Answer 17

Branches will be different lengths based on the number of evolutionary changes or distance – May convey additional info such as mutations and the time at which the branches start to diverge

Question 18

Unscaled branches

Answer 18

All branches in the tree are the same length – only considers evolutionary relationships between species

Question 19

Branch length can represent ____ or the rate of ____ change.

Answer 19

Time; genetic