Natural Selection
What is fitness?
An organisms's ability to survive AND reproduce.
What is a peptide bond?
Covalent bond between amino acids. Essential to protein formation.
Describe the function of monomers in relation to macromolecules and polymers.
Monomers are the building blocks of macromolecules and polymers.
What is a species?
A group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of reproduction and producing viable and fertile offspring.
Describe homology.
Genes that are shared by two or more organisms and their common ancestors.
Describe the Theory of Natural Selection.
Organisms best suited to their environment are more likely to survive AND reproduce, which passes their adaptation onto their offspring.
Describe the difference between an ionic bond and a covalent bond.
Ionic bonds create charged atoms (an electron is stolen). Covalent bonds are when atoms share elections (can be polar or non-polar).
What is the process of dehydration synthesis?
Removing water from monomers in order to link them together (with help from an enzyme); in this process, a macromolecule is synthesized.
Describe the processes of Allopatric speciation.
There are two steps, Geographic isolation and Reproductive isolation. In essence, a select group will be separated from the original population, and will no longer be able to reproduce with the original population because of different selective pressures.
Describe homoplasty.
Characteristics that two species share/possess, which are not derived as a result of common ancestry. This is also known as analogous structures.
Where do phenotypic variations come from?
MUTATIONS
What elements are present in all organisms?
Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur (CHONPS)
What is the process of Hydrolysis?
Adding water to a polymer to break it down into monomers (with the help of an enzyme); in this process polymers are broken down.
What is the process of sympatric speciation?
It is when a new species is formed in the same location with the same selective pressures as the original or ancestral population. This is caused by polyploidy and is more common in plants.
What is the difference between convergent evolution and divergent evolution?
Divergent:
Two or more species evolve from a common ancestor
Convergent:
Two unrelated species evolve similar appearances over time due to similar selection pressures
All of these are causes of genetic variation EXCEPT:
- Mutations
- Sexual Reproduction
- Nondisjunction
- Mitosis
Mitosis!
What are the four macromolecules?
Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids
Give an example of a monosaccharide, disaccharide, and polysaccharide.
Mono - glucose, fructose, galactose, etc.
Di - Sucrose, lactose, maltose, etc.
Poly - Starch, cellulose, glycogen, etc.
All of these are facilitators of evolution except:
- Small population
- No mutations
- Non-random mating
- Gene flow
- Natural Selection
NO MUTATIONS
Describe a punctuated equilibrium.
When evolution occurs rapidly after a long period of stasis
What does VISA stand for? What does it mean?
Variation, Inheritance, Selection, and Adaptation.
Variation - individuals naturally differ for a select trait
Inheritance - the variation of a trait is at least partly inherited
Selection - the environment determines whether a trait will be beneficial or not
Adaptation - frequency of a beneficial trait will increase in population over time
Why is transpiration important?
It allows water to move through the plant.
What is the difference between saturated and Unsaturated fats.
Saturated - most animal fats, solid at room temperature; straight chains that allow for many hydrogen bonds to be stacked close together (dense)
Unsaturated - Kinks in double bonds which prevents molecules from packing tight together, providing it with a liquid state.
If a species of fish was carried away by an aggressive tide from their original location (isolation), and developed lungs and legs, describe why they could not reproduce with the original population.
The fish were geographically isolated from the original population, and thus experienced different selective pressures, changing their genome to develop legs and lungs, and making it impossible to reproduce with the other fish.
Describe heterozygote advantage.
When it is better to possess heterozygous genotypes for a trait, as opposed to being homozygous for a genotype. It is beneficial because individuals can carry the recessive allele (the population retains the recessive allele) and individuals obtain the benefits of both traits (ex. sickle cell anemia, those who are recessive for the trait are resistant to malaria, but those who are dominant are less resistant)