Chapter 1
Name the 5 fundamental characteristics shared by all living organisms.
Cells, Replication, Information, Energy, Evolution
This scientist, along with Alfred Russel Wallace, proposed the theory of evolution by natural selection.
Who is Charles Darwin?
The Hardy–Weinberg equation is written as this.
What is p² + 2pq + q² = 1?
Hardy–Weinberg serves as this type of hypothesis when studying evolutionary processes.
What is the null hypothesis? (Chapter 23)
Who proposed the chromosomal theory of inheritance in 1902?
Walter Sutton and Theodor Boveri (Chapter 1)
What are the two main statements of the cell theory?
1) All organisms are made of cells. 2) All cells come from preexisting cells
These reduced or nonfunctional structures, like the human tailbone, provide evidence of evolutionary change.
What are vestigial traits?
Inbreeding can lead to reduced heterozygosity and this decline in fitness.
What is inbreeding depression?
What is the difference between a hypothesis and a theory?
Hypothesis = testable explanation for a specific observation. Theory = explanation for a general class of phenomena, supported by a wide body of evidence (Chapter 1)
This process describes movement of alleles between populations.
What is gene flow? (Chapter 22)
What are the four building blocks of DNA?
A, T, C, G
This term refers to the ability of an individual to produce surviving, fertile offspring compared to others.
What is biological fitness?
In this type of selection, intermediate phenotypes are eliminated while extremes are favored.
What is disruptive selection?
Darwin described evolution as this phrase, meaning modern species are modified versions of ancestral species.
What is descent with modification?(Chapter 22)
What is the “Central Dogma” of biology?
DNA → RNA → proteins (Chapter 1)
How organisms acquire energy is central to diversification of life
plants acquire via photosynthesis; animals via consuming other organisms.
Evolution is not purposeful or goal-directed because these random genetic changes occur without intent.
What are mutations?
Most mutations are either neutral or this, meaning they decrease fitness.
What are deleterious mutations?
This effect occurs when a small group establishes a new population with different allele frequencies than the source.
What is the founder effect? (Chapter 23)
This form of mating in plants and hermaphroditic animals increases homozygosity generation after generation.
What is self-fertilization (selfing)? (Chapter 23)
Why must scientific ideas always be tested rigorously?
Because hypotheses and theories must be supported or refuted by evidence, and questions remain open until thoroughly tested
This process occurs when allele frequencies change due to chance, especially in small populations.
What is genetic drift?
Mutation is unique because it is the only evolutionary process that can do this.
What is create new alleles?
What molecule is the “energy currency” of the cell?
ATP (adenosine triphosphate) (Chapter 1)
What theory did the idea of “spontaneous generation” oppose?
The Cell Theory (Chapter 1)