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Biology Exam Prep > Evolution > Flashcards

Evolution Flashcards

1
Q

Evolution

A

The process in which significant changes in the inheritable traits (i.e. genes) of a species occur over time.

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2
Q

Variation

A

a different or distinct form or version of something.

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3
Q

Selection

A

mechanism that drives the evolution of a species

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4
Q

Recombination

A

New combinations of alleles as frequencies and favourability changes

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5
Q

Mutations

A

Genetic variations different than the norm

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6
Q

Gregor Mendel

A

Answered the questions of heredity left in Darwin’s work

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7
Q

Immutable

A

Unchangeable.

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8
Q

The age of the Earth

A

4.54 billion years old

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9
Q

Radiometric dating

A

Tool used to determine the age of the earth

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10
Q

Fossil records

A

fossils can be dated; show previous evolutionary forms of modern animals

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11
Q

Excess offspring

A

an organism produces more offspring to accomodate for the death rate

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12
Q

Spontaneous generation

A

Life comes from non-living things.

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13
Q

Creationism

A

Creator made things as we see now

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14
Q

Catastrophism

A

natural disasters killed off old species (explaining fossils)

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15
Q

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

A

The Theory of Acquired Characteristics; if an organism changes during its life, those changes are passed down (e.g. bodybuilder passes down muscles). Wrong but close

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16
Q

Charles Darwin

A

First to theorize evolution but could not explain heredity.

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17
Q

Darwin’s voyage

A

5 year voyage started in 1831; goal was to observe, collect and record specimens

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18
Q

Darwin’s finches

A

Different variations of the same species due to environmental factors

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19
Q

Galapagos Islands

A

One of Darwin’s stops during his voyage; he found each island has different variations of the tortoise, depending on the environment

20
Q

Heredity

A

passing on of physical or mental characteristics genetically from one generation to another.

21
Q

Punctuated equilibrium

A

After the initial burst of evolution, species do not change significantly over long periods of time.

22
Q

Species

A

Different variations of a genus

23
Q

Pentadactyl limb

A

five-fingered limb possessed by many different species (whale, bat, human, mole, etc.)

24
Q

Homologous structures

A

Similar in origin but different in functions (ex: dolphin flipper and human hand)

25
Q

Divergent evolution

A

Ancestral line started out similar but diverged in different directions, towards different structures or functions

26
Q

Common ancestor

A

ancestor shared by different animals

27
Q

Analogous structures

A

similar in function but different in origin (ex: wings of birds and butterflies)

28
Q

Convergent evolution

A

different ancestors converge towards a similar function or structure

29
Q

Embryology

A

Study of embryos and their development

30
Q

Vestigial structures

A

structures that are reduced forms of structures that were functional in the animal’s ancestor but are no longer useful/effective (ex: tiny detached pelvic bone in whales)

31
Q

DNA

A

a clue to how closely related different organisms are

32
Q

Fitness

A

the lifetime reproductive success of an individual

33
Q

Allele frequency

A

frequency (how often) alleles are present in a population

34
Q

Founder effect

A

a few individuals from a large population leave and form a new population, resulting in new allele frequency

35
Q

Bottleneck effect

A

Type of genetic drift; dramatic but temporary reduction in population size, resulting in significant genetic drift.

36
Q

Genetic drift

A

change in the genetic makeup of a population, resulting from chance

37
Q

Gene flow

A

net movement of alleles from one population to another (i.e. migration)

38
Q

Migration

A

Example of gene flow

39
Q

Natural selection

A

shows that certain alleles are more successful than others when they enhance the phenotype of the individual and contribute to their reproductive success.

40
Q

Stabilizing selection

A

Type of natural selection; the most common phenotype is the most favoured by the environment

41
Q

Directional selection

A

Type of natural selection; the environment favours one extreme of a trait

42
Q

Disruptive selection

A

Type of natural selection; the environment favours both extremes of a trait

43
Q

Sexual selection

A

favours the selection of any trait that influence the mating success of an organism; produces traits that are ONLY beneficial for mating and are otherwise detrimental

44
Q

Sexual dimorphism

A

obvious differences in the physical appearance between males and females (ex: bright feathers)

45
Q

Female choice

A

Type of sexual selection

46
Q

Male-male competition

A

Type of sexual selection

47
Q

Speciation

A

rapid bursts of evolution of species in a short amount of time; normally occur in small isolated populations

Biology Exam Prep (7 decks)

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