Evolution Concepts
True or False: Evolution happens to individual organisms during their lifetime.
False (evolution occurs in populations across generations)
BONUS 100: rock, paper, scissors another team. Winner gets 100, loser loses 100.
In rock layers, which fossils are usually oldest?
Fossils found in the lowest layers.
Bonus 100: One member of your team must act out an evolution-related term without using words or sounds. Their team has 3 chances to get the right answer.
What type of adaptation involves physical body structures?
Structural adaptations.
BONUS 50: Who is Ms. Hult's bias in BTS?
Who studied fossils and recognized extinction?
Georges Cuvier.
What type of environmental conditions are shown on tolerance range graphs? _________ factors like _______________________________.
Abiotic factors such as temperature, pH, salinity, or sunlight.
Bonus 100: One member of your team must act out an evolution-related term without using words or sounds. Their team has 3 chances to get the right answer.
What type of biological molecule contains the genes responsible for adaptations?
DNA
What are rock layers containing fossils called?
Strata.
BONUS 50: rock, paper, scissors another team. Winner gets 50, loser loses 50.
What is the difference between physiological and structural adaptations?
Physiological adaptations are internal (producing venom) while structural adaptations are external (thick fur).
What scientist developed the idea of natural selection?
Charles Darwin.
BONUS 50: rock, paper, scissors another team. Winner gets 50, loser loses 50.
A population of fish live in a stream that has the perfect temperature, pH, and enough food for the fish to reproduce and thrive. What is this range of tolerance called?
Optimal range
BONUS 100: rock, paper, scissors another team. Winner gets 100, loser loses 100.
What is the primary source of genetic diversity in populations?
Random mutations in DNA.
Bonus 100: One member of your team must act out an evolution-related term without using words or sounds. Their team has 3 chances to get the right answer.
What is the name of the principle that states the lowest rock layers are oldest?
Law of Superposition.
A desert fox has very large ears that release heat. What type of adaptation is this?
Structural adaptation.
BONUS 50: rock, paper, scissors another team. Winner gets 50, loser loses 50.
What is catastrophism?
The idea that large natural disasters cause extinction and geological changes.
A population of deer grows larger than the available food supply, causing many individuals to become weak and die. What ecological factor is affecting the population?
Competition.
Bonus 100: One member of your team must act out an evolution-related term without using words or sounds. Their team has 3 chances to get the right answer.
What is natural selection?
The process where individuals with traits that increase survival and reproduction pass those traits to the next generation.
Bonus 50: Listen and guess the title to this song.
What did Georges Cuvier observe about fossils in upper rock layers?
Younger fossils resemble modern species more closely.
BONUS 50: rock, paper, scissors another team. Winner gets 50, loser loses 50.
Humans sweating to cool down is what type of adaptation?
Physiological adaptation.
BONUS 50: rock, paper, scissors another team. Winner gets 50, loser loses 50.
What scientist believed acquired traits could be inherited?
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck.
BONUS 50: Who was Ms. Hult's first favorite Kpop group that debuted in 2012?
Farmers breed only the cows that produce the most milk so future generations produce more milk. What type of selection is this?
Artificial selection.
What role do mutations play in natural selection?
Mutations create new traits that may increase or decrease survival, allowing natural selection to act on them.
BONUS 50: rock, paper, scissors another team. Winner gets 50, loser loses 50.
Why do scientists study fossils to understand evolution?
Fossils show how organisms have changed over time and reveal species that lived in the past.
An octopus changing color to blend into surroundings is what type of adaptation?
Structural adaptation.
Bonus 50: What is the title of RM's second mixtape?
What observation helped Darwin support gradualism in Peru?
Mussel fossils found higher in the Andes.
BONUS 50: rock, paper, scissors another team. Winner gets 50, loser loses 50.
Why can predation influence the evolution of prey species?
Predators create selective pressure favoring traits that improve survival, such as camouflage or speed.
What are three ecological factors that encourage natural selection?
Physiological stress, predation, competition, sexual selection.
Bonus 50: Listen and guess the title to this song.
How do fossils provide evidence for evolution?
They show changes in organisms over time and reveal extinct species.
BONUS 50: rock, paper, scissors another team. Winner gets 50, loser loses 50.
Why are adaptations considered heritable traits rather than changes that occur during an organism’s lifetime?
Because adaptations result from genes (DNA) that can be passed from parents to offspring.
What is adaptive radiation?
When a species rapidly diversifies into new forms when entering a new ecosystem.
Bonus 50: Listen and guess the title to this song.
Why does sexual selection sometimes produce traits that do not directly help survival?
Because those traits increase success in attracting mates.
Bonus 50: Listen and guess the title to this song.
A scientist observes that individuals in a population have different traits, some of which improve survival in a particular environment. What evolutionary mechanism explains why those advantageous traits become more common over time?
Natural selection acting on genetic variation produced by mutations.
A scientist finds fossils of several different species in different rock layers. The deeper fossils look very different from modern organisms, while fossils in higher layers look more similar to modern species. What does this pattern suggest?
Species change over time through evolution.
A population of animals shows variation in ear size. Individuals with larger ears release heat more efficiently in hot environments and survive longer. What evolutionary process would cause larger ears to become more common over generations?
Natural selection favoring individuals with the advantageous trait.
BONUS 50: rock, paper, scissors another team. Winner gets 50, loser loses 50.
How did Francis Lyell’s idea of uniformitarianism influence Charles Darwin’s thinking about evolution?
It supported the idea that Earth changes slowly over long periods of time, giving enough time for gradual biological changes and evolution to occur.
Why might a population that experienced a bottleneck have difficulty adapting to future environmental changes?
Because reduced genetic diversity limits the traits available for natural selection.
BONUS 50: rock, paper, scissors another team. Winner gets 50, loser loses 50.