evolution
What was Lamark’s theory of evolution called? What does it state? (1809)
Theory of acquired characteristics. Any change that occurs during a parent’s lifetime can be
passed on to offspring. INCORRECT
5. fossils
lived in past are different from what we see today but they show us similarities and
progressions from one form to another.
How can variations evolve in a population?
Isolation, immigration/emigration, random mutation (sources of new genetic information)
How are scientific names determined and why are they important?
Put the genus and species names together and underline them (or if typing make in italics). They
are important because they are universal, the same all over the world. Genus is capitalized,
species is not.
4. Protists –
some producers, consumers, or decomposers, mostly unicellular (microscopic). The
leftover group. kingdom
What are the 5 pieces of evidence for evolution and what are examples of each?
1. homologous structures – have similar functions and structures (muscles, tendons,
connections…) from one species to another. Human arm, dog leg, bird/bat wing, whale fin
What are the 5 tenets of Darwin’s theory of evolution? (1859 On the Origin of Species)
1. organisms produce more offspring than can survive
2. variations occur among individuals of a species
3. variations are passed from parent to offspring
4. some variations help individuals survive and reproduce better than others
5. over time the more helpful variations become more common in a population
What is the relationship between genetic variation and natural selection?
If members of a species did not have different traits no natural selection could exist because all the members of that species would be equally adapted to each environmental pressure. However, there is genetic variation in populations and some individuals are more adapted to their surroundings than others. The ones that survive are more likely to pass on their genes.
The more genetic variation there is the more likely there will be some organisms with helpful
variations when an environment changes. This would make it more likely that the species will
survive and not all of them will die out.
Name the 3 domains. Which ones have a nucleus and which ones do not? Name 1 characteristic
of each.
Archaea or Archaebacteria – no nucleus, live in extreme environments, most likely 1 st organisms
to evolve
Bacteria – no nucleus
Eukarya – nucleus – includes the 4 kingdoms we are familiar with
Producer / Autotroph –
makes its own food - plant, algae, bacteria
2. DNA
inherited genes from ancestors, how characteristics are passed on. We share 98% of
our DNA with chimpanzees.
Explain “natural selection” and “survival of the fittest”.
Animals with different variations that are better and more adapted (suited) to their environment
are more likely to survive and pass on that variation. Individuals not well suited will not survive
and therefore shouldn’t pass on that unhelpful variation.
How can an environmental change affect a population?
When a new environmental pressure is introduced, some organisms in a population will not survive. The organisms with the genes that are most adapted to the environment will have the highest chance of surviving and passing their genes on to the next generation.
1. Animals –
all consumers, all multicellular, kingdom
Decomposer –
breaks down dead materials to return nutrients to soil for plants (fungi, some
bacteria)
3. vestigial structure
body parts that our ancestors used before but they no longer serve a
purpose, evolving to not have them, appendix, tailbone, muscle that moves your ear, ligament in
your arm for grasping
What is gradualism? Give an example.
Evolution that happens over a long period of time. Development of sea to land organisms.
Taxonomy
study of how organisms are classified
2. Plants –
producers, multicellular, kingdom
Scavenger –
eats dead animals (hyena, vulture)
4. embryo(logy)
– similarities between humans and fish and chickens when developing suggest
that we show our evolutionary history as we develop.
What is punctuated equilibrium/evolution? Give an example.
Evolution that happens rapidly in a few generations. Explains gaps in fossil records. Black and
white peppered moths. Antibiotic resistant bacteria
Put in order from largest (most general) to smallest (most specific) class, domain, family, genus
kingdom, order, phylum, species
Domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species
3. Fungi –
decomposers, multicellular, kingdom
Omnivore –
eats both plants and animals (you!)