Evolution

Question 1

What is evolution?

Answer 1

Gradual change in inherited characteristics of a population over time

Question 2

How does evolution occur?

Answer 2

Natural selection

Question 3

What is Darwin’s theory?

Answer 3

Evolution by natural selection

All living species evolved from a common ancestor first developed more than three billion years ago

Question 4

Why was Darwin’s theory eventually accepted?

Answer 4

They begun to challenge the idea that God made all of Earth’s animals and plants

At the time there was insufficient evidence however since then more evidence has been found

Mechanisms of inheritance and variations were not known at the time

Question 5

What was Jean-Baptiste Lamarck’s theory?

Answer 5

That changes that occur during a lifetime can be passed on to offspring

Question 6

What evidence do we have of evolution?

Answer 6

Fossil record

Evolution of antibiotic resistance in bacteria

Question 7

What is natural selection?

Answer 7

Organism’s within a species show a wide range of variation in phenotype

Individuals with characteristics most suited to the environment are more likely to survive

These traits are then passed on to the offspring

Question 8

What is speciation?

Answer 8

Speciation is the gradual formation of a new species as a result of evolution

Question 9

What is the process of speciation?

Answer 9

1. Two populations of one species are isolated
2. Natural selection occurs so that the better-adapted individuals reproduce and pass on new traits
3. Populations have an increasing number of genetic mutations as they adapt to their environments
4. Eventually the 2 populations have adapted so much that they cannot breed to produce a fertile offspring

Question 10

What factors contribute to extinction?

Answer 10

-New predators
-New diseases
-Increased competition for
resources
-Catastrophic events
-Changes to environment

Question 11

Benefits of fossil record

Answer 11

Can tell scientists how individual species have evolved over time

Help us understand Earth’s history

To track movements of species or its ancestors across the world

Question 12

Problems with fossil record

Answer 12

Many early organisms were soft bodied so they decayed before producing fossils

There are gaps in the fossil record as some have been destroyed by geological and human activity

Question 13

When did Darwin publish his theory on Evolution?

Answer 13

1859

Question 14

Who developed the system to classify living things in to groups?

Answer 14

Carl Linnaeus

Question 15

CLASSIFCIATION OR LIVING ORGANISMS

Answer 15

Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species

Question 16

How can antibiotic resistance be lowered?

Answer 16

Doctors should only prescribe antibiotics when needed

Patients should complete their antibiotic course

Use of antibiotics in farming and agriculture should be restricted

Question 17

What did Mendel discover thorugh reeding experiments on plants?

Answer 17

Inheritance of characteristics is determined by units (genes) passed on unchanged to the offspring

Question 18

How might fossils be formed?

Answer 18

Parts of an organism do not decay because they are not in the correct conditions to decay

Traces of organisms are preserved

Parts of organism are replaced by minerals

Question 19

What is the binomial system?

Answer 19

Naming of organisms by their genus and species

Question 20

Why can bacteria evolve rapidly?

Answer 20

They reproduce at a fast rate

Question 21

How do antibiotics resistant strains of bacteria develop?

Answer 21

Mutations that allow the strain to survive and reproduce