Vocabulary
A characteristic of an organism is a
Trait
How are traits passed on from parent to offspring?
Genes in DNA.
What did Darwin see in South America that surprised him?
Fossils of sea animals
Where are plant embryos found?
in plant seeds
What do male peacocks do to get the female peahens attention?
Spread their feathers and do a dance in front of them.
A developing organism that has not yet sprouted, hatched, or been born is called what?
an embryo
How is a mutation related to DNA?
Mutations are changes in an organism’s DNA.
What did many the species of animals in the Galapagos island resemble?
They resembled species of animals on mainland South America.
What type of animal was the common ancestor of bony fish, mammals, and birds?
a vertebrate
What is one very obvious way male and female Widowbirds differ?
Males have much longer tails.
Two species evolve in response to each other, resulting in reciprocal or “matching” adaptations is called?
Coevolution
Cancer is the result of mutations in the DNA. From what you know, is cancer a beneficial, neutral, or harmful mutation?
Harmful mutation
How did Lyell’s ideas influence Darwin’s ideas on how living things changed over time?
Features could change gradually over long periods of time.
What anatomical features do all arthropods have?
a segmented body, legs with joints, an external skeleton
What anti-mosquito measures can slow the evolution of insecticide resistance?
switching between different insecticides, sleeping under mosquito nets, drain areas where mosquitos breed, add predatory fish to places where the mosquito larvae live, skim pond surfaces to remove larvae.
What is a species? Give 3 examples.
A species is a group of organisms that share traits and can breed successfully with one another but not with other groups. Examples may vary.
What are two ways a gene can get a mutation?
Mistakes in copying DNA during cell division & Environmental factors, such as UV light
What is an adaptation?
an inherited trait evolved through natural selection that makes a population well suited to living and reproducing in its environment
Besides gill slits, what other trait do all vertebrates have as embryos that goes away later in human development?
a tail
What are three examples of adaptations organisms have for finding or attracting mates?
male fireflies produce light signals to attract nearby females; male peacocks spread their beautiful tail feathers to court peahens; male bighorn sheep with larger horns win more fights and reproduce more than male bighorn sheep with smaller horns.
What is a genetic variation?
differences in the inherited traits of different individuals.
What is a protein? Give two examples of proteins in the human body and what they do.
A protein is a type of molecule that makes up much of an organism’s structure and helps it function. Keratin makes up much of human skin, hair, and nails. Amylase helps humans break down carbohydrates they eat.
Why didn’t Darwin want to publish his work right away?
He wanted to collect enough data to make sure that his theory was well supported, and he didn’t want to upset the people that didn’t believe that living things changed over time.
What traits does the Archaeopteryx have that are unique to birds?
feathers, feathered wings, and a wishbone
What were three possibilities for why there was an increased proportion of black moths in the environment after the Industrial Revolution?
One idea was, as the environment became polluted, birds (the main predators of peppered moths) had started eating more light moths, which were no longer well camouflaged. A second idea was that dark color somehow protected the moths from pollution. A third idea was that soot pollution caused moths to make more pigment, darkening their color.