Darwin
Proof of Evolution
Vocabulary
Regents Practice
100
Darwin made most of his discoveries from his travels around what group of islands?
The Galapagos
100
These leftover body parts are no longer needed, yet they may have been important to our ancestors at one point
Vestigial Organs
100
"Change over time"
Evolution
100

Which area of biology compares and attempts to explain the changes that have taken place in living things over millions of years, as well as those changes occurring today?

(1) classification

(2) reproduction

(3) physiology

(4) evolution


(4) evolution

200
What happens in the process of natural selection?
Organisms that are well adapted to an environment will survive and reproduce. Organisms that are poorly adapted to an environment will die off. The environment is what "chooses" the survivors.
200
Both the chicken and the human look very similar during the early stages of embryo development. In terms of evolution, what does this prove?
The chicken and the human have a common ancestor.
200
"Selective breeding of plants and animals to promote a specific characteristic"
Artificial selection
200

Which statement best supports the inference that the ancestors of modern day whales had legs and lived on land?

(1) Population size tends to remain stable from generation to generation.

(2) Evolutionary change is always rapid and continuous.

(3) Existing life forms have evolved from earlier life forms.

(4) Geographic isolation rarely favors speciation in small populations.


(3) Existing life forms have evolved from earlier life forms.

300
When studying tortoises, Darwin noticed that the tortoises on each island had slightly different shaped shells. Why had each population evolved to have a different shell?
The food on each island was different, making it necessary for the tortoises to adapt. When food was up high, tortoises needed a shell that allowed them to stretch upwards.
300
New technology in genetics has proven the Darwin's theory of evolution is correct. How might our DNA help to prove evolution?
Humans have significant portions of DNA in common with other species, proving that we have common ancestors. 
300
"The process by which organisms that are more suited for the environment survive and successfully reproduce"
Natural selection
300

Early stages in the embryo of a fish are similar to the early stages of human and pig embryos. An explanation for this similarity is that the

(1) pig and the human occupy the same habitat, while the fish occupies a different habitat

(2) pig and the human are more closely related to each other than to the fish

(3) pig, human, and fish evolved from a common ancestor

(4) pig, human, and fish had no ancestral species in common


(3) pig, human, and fish evolved from a common ancestor

400
Darwin was heavily influenced by Lamarck's theory of evolution. How did Lamarck believe that a giraffe got its long neck?
The giraffe's short ancestor stretched and stretched until its neck grew long. It then passed on its longer neck to its children.


*By using its organs more often, it made them stronger and more defined, which was then passed on to its offspring.

400
Why are fossils important evidence for evolution?
They prove that there has been evolution over time: The animal species that exist today are not the same as the animal species from millions of years ago
400
"A heritable characteristic that increases an organism's ability to survive and reproduce in an environment"
Adaptation
400

Based on modern evolutionary theory, the development of a new species would most likely be associated with 

(1) a constant environment 

(2) geographic isolation 

(3) stable gene pools 

(4) a lack of mutations

(2) geographic isolation 

500
What three patterns of biodiversity did Darwin notice?
- Species vary globally


- Species vary locally

-  Species vary over time

500

The study of animal embryos is called ________.

Embryology

500
"An organ that is inherited from a common ancestor, but has lost much or all of its original function." Example: the appendix
Vestigial organ
500

The theory that birds and reptiles share common ancestry is supported by the evidence that they both 

(1) occupy similar niches 

(2) have similar environmental requirements 

(3) show structural similarities during their development 

(4) have evolved as separate groups at about the same time

(3) show structural similarities during their development 

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