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Vocabulary
Who's Who?
Fill In the Blank
Short Answer
Miscellaneous
100
Charles Darwin called the ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its specific environment what?
What is fitness.
100
The hypothesis that all species are descended from common ancestors was proposed by who?
What is Charles Darwin.
100
When a population’s birthrate exceeds its death rate, the size of the population _________.
What is increases.
100
Many modern whales have a vestigial pelvis and femur. What does this evidence suggest about ancestors of modern whales?
Ancestors of modern whales probably had functional legs and lived on land.
100
The species of finches that Charles Darwin found on different Galápagos Islands varied in certain structural adaptations. One of the most significant adaptations that Darwin noted was the what?
What is birds’ different-shaped beaks.
200
Similar patterns of embryological development in different but related organisms are responsible for the formation of
What is homologous structures.
200
One scientist who attempted to explain how rock formations, such as rock layers, form and change over time was who?
What is James Hutton.
200
Natural selection occurs when organisms survive in their local environment and produce _______.
What is offspring
200
What is the principle of common descent?
All living and extinct species are descended from a common ancestor.
200
Charles Darwin’s observation that finches of different species on the Galápagos Islands have many similar physical characteristics supports the hypothesis that these finches had what?
What is descended from a common ancestor.
300
In humans, the pelvis and femur, or thigh bone, are involved in walking. In whales, the pelvis and femur are what?
What is vestigial structures.
300
The idea that events like war, starvation, and disease could prevent the endless growth of human populations was presented by who?
What is Thomas Malthus.
300
Geologists use ____ to determine a rock layer’s absolute age.
What is radioactive dating
300
How did the farmers observed by Charles Darwin take advantage of natural variation to improve their livestock?
Farmers bred only animals with desirable traits, which resulted in improved offspring.
300
The economist Thomas Malthus suggested that without certain checks on population size, what would happen?
What is there would soon be insufficient food for the growing human population.
400
When a farmer breeds only his or her best livestock, the process involved is what?
What is artificial selection.
400
According to this man, evolution resulted from the inheritance of acquired traits.
What is Lamarck.
400
Structures that have different functions in different species but develop from the same embryonic tissues are called _____ structures.
What is homologous.
400
What can be concluded from the similarity in the Hox genes that control limb development in many types of organisms?
The similarity of Hox genes in many types of organisms is evidence that the organisms all evolved from a common ancestor.
400
Which statement is part of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection? a. More offspring are produced than can possibly survive. b. The organisms that are the fittest are always largest and strongest. c. The number of offspring is not related to fitness. d. Acquired characteristics that are inherited are the cause of evolution.
What is a. More offspring are produced than can possibly survive.
500
What principle does the Grants’ investigation of finch adaptation in the Galápagos Islands best support?
What is natural selection.
500
James Hutton and this man held similar views about Earth’s age. Both thought that Earth was millions of years old.
What is Charles Lyell.
500
Homologous structures are evidence for Darwin’s idea that all life on Earth is connected through _________.
What is common ancestors.
500
How does artificial selection differ from natural selection?
In artificial selection, humans do the “selecting”—that is, they choose which traits they want to appear in future generations. In natural selection, the environment does the “selecting.”
500
Which characteristic of Galápagos finches helped the Grants show the results of natural selection?
What is the size and shape of their beaks.