Natural Selection
Evolution
Fossils
History of Classification
Taxonomy
100
What is the missing word?
"When the most beneficial traits are passed down to offspring, those offspring are more like to _________ and reproduce to pass down the beneficial trait."
survive
100
When Natural Selection occurs many times over thousands of generations (millions of years), it can lead to _________________.
Evolution
100
What is the scientific process of making a fossil called? (it starts with a P)
Permineralization
100
Who was the FIRST scientists to create a classification system?
Aristotle
100
What is the name of the largest and most inclusive level of grouping in the modern classification system?
Domain
200
What is the FIRST stage (out of four) for the process of Natural Selection?
Overproduction
200
True or false: Evolution can happen after just a few generations.
False.
It takes tens of thousands to millions of years for evolution to lead to speciation. It does not typically happen in nature after just a few generations.
200
Which organism is the oldest?
The Trilobite
200
Who do we call the "father of taxonomy"?
(He created the foundation of the current system we still use today to classify living things)
Carl Linnaeus
200
How many kingdoms are there?
Six (6)
300
What is a "variation" or "variant"?
A variation or variant is how a trait might represent different between organisms of the same species.
For example, if there are two frogs of the same species and one is brown while the other is green, they have two different variations for their body color. One is a green variant, the other is a brown variant.
300
Who was the first scientist to write a theory about evolution and the way in which it occured?
Charles Darwin
300
What is the purpose of the Fossil Record? How does it show scientists that evolution has occured?
The fossil record helps scientist determine the common ancestors of modern organisms, and shows how different species have emerged over time.
300
Explain what was wrong with Aristotle's two-kingdom system?
Aristotle only classified things into Plants & Animals. The animals were categorized based on where they lived (sky, land, water) and not on the common characteristics or morphological similarities to other organisms that might be closely related to it.
Aristotle also sorted plants based on if they were ground cover (like grass), shrubs/bushes, and tress, organizing them by stem thickness.
This system is not effective because it does not explain the way organisms are closely or not closely related to each other. Aristotle also did not know about microscopic organisms, so he was not aware of the kingdoms Archaea, Bacteria, or Protista.
He also did not differentiate Fungi from Plants, despite their very different functions.
300
Name all six kingdoms.
Animalia
Plantae
Fungi
Protista
Archaea (Archaebacteria)
Bacteria (Eubacteria)
400
Which scientist discovered and researched the process of Natural Selection?
Charles Darwin
400
What is the relationship between the Mesohippus and the Horse?
The Mesohippus is the ancestor of the horse.
400
How can scientists determine when a "mass extinction" event has occurred in the history of the Earth?
In the layer of soil, there will be a sudden disappearance of many species within the fossil record, as if they vanished suddenly. The sudden and immediate decrease in biodiversity tells scientists a mass extinction event has occurred.
400
Why did Linnaeus not have Eubacteria and Archaebacteria in his classification system?
Because technology at the time did not allow Linnaeus to observe and research single-celled organisms.
400
What do we call "scientific" names of organisms?
How are they created?
Binomial Nomenclature.
Genus + Species.
500
Is this an example of Natural Selection? Why or why not? (if it is not natural selection, then what is it?)
This is not an example of Natural Selection. Dogs descended from wild wolves, however they were domesticated by humans. Through domestication, humans selected desirable traits and temperaments that they wanted offspring to inherit. Because humans were selecting the desirable traits and not a natural habitat, this is an example of artificial selection.
500
How are Natural Selection and Evolution related? Are they the same thing?
No, they are not the same thing. Natural Selection is the process (or "vehicle") that allows Evolution to occur, but they are not the same. Natural selection happens with each generation (survival of the fittest), whereas Evolution takes many many generations to have speciation occur.
500
The Holocene epoch was how many thousands of years ago?
10,000 years ago
500
What is the difference between the two vocabulary words "Classification" and "Taxonomy"?
Classification is the action of sorting things into different groupings based on common characteristics.
Taxonomy is the science of classifying organisms into their groupings.
500
Which level of classification is more specific? Phylum or Family?
Family