Evolution & Natrual Selection

Question 1

Evolution

Answer 1

Genetic changes in the traits of a group; individuals do not evolve.

Question 2

Natural Selection

Answer 2

Variations between individuals in survival and reproductive success

Question 3

Genetic Mutations

Answer 3

Changes in the base sequences of DNA that create new alleles

Question 4

Pigeon Example

Answer 4

Pigeons with white tails were avoiding attracts from peregrine falcons more than pigeons without white tails. Pigeons with the favored trait survived more than pigeons who lacked it. Eventually, more pigeons with white tails were being born.

Question 5

Microevolution

Answer 5

Genetic changes within a species; these changes are small enough to be witnessed firsthand.

Question 6

Examples of Microevolution

Answer 6

Pesticides and drug resistance; surviving cells pass on resistant genes.

Question 7

Fossil Formation

Answer 7

Minerals leech into bones preserving them in stone or as imprints; dated using radioactive clocks measuring the amount of carbon 14 present

Question 8

Transitional Fossils

Answer 8

Fossils showing intermediate steps in the process of evolutionary change; disappearance of whale legs

Question 9

Homologous

Answer 9

Similarities in structures resulting from common ancestry; vestigial limbs in whale tell us that they are distantly related to land mammals