Exam 1

Question 1

Four necessary events for life to originate

Answer 1

Formation of biomolecules
Formation of polymers
Formation of vesicles (proto-cells)
Self-replication

Question 2

Formation of biomolecules

Answer 2

May be amino acids (monomers that make up proteins)

Question 3

Formation of polymers

Answer 3

The four levels of protein structure

1. Primary
2. Secondary
3. Tertiary
4. Quaternary

Question 4

Formation of vesicles (proto-cells)

Answer 4

Similar to phospholipids arrange themselves in a bilayer
polar heads face outward
hydrophobic tails face inward

Things are captured in the middle

Endosymbiosis - Cyanobacteria to plastic

Question 5

Self-replication

Answer 5

DNA, RNA, etc

Question 6

Amino acids components

Answer 6

Central carbon atom (α-carbon)
Amino group (-NH2)
Carboxyl group (-COOH)
Hydrogen
Side chain (R-group)

Question 7

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

Answer 7

Hypothesized that changes to an individual during its lifetime would be passed on to offspring

“Inheritance of acquired traits”

Question 8

Darwin and Wallace

Answer 8

wrote scientific reports on natural selection that were presented together before the Linnean Society in 1858

“Descent with modification”

Question 9

Population thinking

Answer 9

The ability to think in terms of changing populations, rather than changing individuals, separated Darwin and Wallace’s theory from the failed hypothesis of Lamarck

Question 10

Darwin’s Two Observations

Answer 10

Observation 1: Evolvable attributes must be variable and heritable
Observation 2: More offspring are produced than can survive; there is competition for resources

Question 11

Darwin’s Two Inferences

Answer 11

Inference 1: Individuals that win competitions for resources tend to reproduce more than those that lose competitions, causing the frequency of beneficial attributes to rise in the population
Inference 2: Fitness of the population increases over time

Question 12

Adaptation

Answer 12

The characteristic that changes according to the environment

May refer to the process of natural selection (“adapting” “adapted”)
May refer to a beneficial attribute involved in natural selection

Question 13

Types of selection

Answer 13

Natural Selection
Artificial Selection

Note that humans may also impose the pressure of natural selection on populations of other organisms

Question 14

Evolutionary process

Answer 14

something ongoing, either in the past or present, that is the underlying cause of an observable pattern
Example: natural selection

Question 15

Evolutionary pattern

Answer 15

refers to some observable artifact left behind by an evolutionary process
Example: the fossil record

Question 16

Evidences of evolution

Answer 16

Fossil record
Homologous structures
Embryology/vestigial structures
Biogeography
DNA sequence

(Note that these are all patterns)

Question 17

Homologous attributes/structures

Answer 17

The similar anatomy of these appendages indicates that these organisms share a common ancestor

Attributes are products of divergent evolution

Question 18

Analogous attributes/structures

Answer 18

Attributes that are similar due to convergent evolution

Question 19

Biogeography as evidence for evolution

Answer 19

Groups that diverged before Pangea broke up are distributed worldwide (albeit in different species)

Groups that diverged after the breakup appear only in certain regions/continents (e.g. Australian marsupials and Madagascar lemurs)

Also evident (but usually less diverse) when species are separated by mountain ranges, large rivers, or other physical barriers.

Question 20

Convergent evolution

Answer 20

These similarities occur not because of common ancestry, but because of similar selection pressures—the benefits provided by camouflage.
Similar phenotypes evolve independently in distantly related species due to similar environmental pressures.

(eg: arctic fox and white bird)

Question 21

Molecular biology as evidence for evolution

Answer 21

DNA analysis provides abundant evidence of evolution
Closely related organisms have similar DNA
DNA encodes proteins that influence phenotype

Question 22

Misconceptions of evolution

Answer 22

Evolutionary theory lacks support
Individuals evolve
Evolution explains the origin of life
Organisms evolved on purpose to accomplish some goal (teleology)
“Survival of the fittest” is a useful phrase in biology

When writing about evolution, you must take care to avoid reinforcing these, and other, misconceptions

Question 23

A complete understanding of evolution requires appreciation of evolution as a process and as a pattern. Of the concepts presented in class so far, identify one that exemplifies the process of evolution. Explain your answer. Then identify and explain one concept presented in class that exemplifies the pattern of evolution.

Answer 23

Process: natural selection
Pattern: the fossil record