Unit 3

Question 1

All mutations are harmful (T/F)

Answer 1

false. mutations can be good, bad, or neutral

Question 2

What process is responsible for moving mutations around to different copies of a chromosome?

Answer 2

recombination

Question 3

What process influences how the chromosomes after recombination are packed into gametes?

Answer 3

independent assortment

Question 4

Most gametes have different genetic combinations (T/F)

Answer 4

True

Question 5

Most people have never seen ___ % of the individuals of a species, including their own

Answer 5

99%

Question 6

Variation can be easily categorized as good or bad (T/F)

Answer 6

false

Question 7

Outliers and variations are a source of new combinations for nature to work with and therefore should not be considered problematic (T/F)

Answer 7

True

Question 8

Types of sorting variation

Answer 8

stabilizing selection
directional selection
disruptive selection

Question 9

Stabilizing selection (definition)

Answer 9

the process that explains the pattern of decreasing variance while the mean stays the same

Question 10

Directional selection (definition)

Answer 10

the process that explains the pattern of the mean value of the characteristic changes

Question 11

Disruptive selection (definition)

Answer 11

the process that explains the pattern of increasing variance and increasing extremes

Question 12

Sexual dimorphism (definition)

Answer 12

distinct difference in phenotypes between the sexes of animals within the same species

Question 13

What three processes make up the variation factory?

Answer 13

mutation
genetic recombination
independent assortment

Question 14

Needs and environments can cause variation (T/F)

Answer 14

False. ONLY the variation factory is responsible for variation

Question 15

Sexual selection (definition)

Answer 15

the process that explains differences in sexes within the same species

Question 16

Sexual selection sorts heritable variation in non-random ways (T/F)

Answer 16

true

Question 17

Sexual selection is a random process (T/F)

Answer 17

False

Question 18

The production of variation is random but the sorting process is not (T/F)

Answer 18

True

Question 19

Natural selection and sexual selection can only work independently of one another (T/F)

Answer 19

False. They can (and often do) work together

Question 20

Random/Chance (definition)

Answer 20

lack of pattern or predictability

Question 21

Non-random (definition)

Answer 21

presence of pattern or predictable event

Question 22

How does chance relate to the sorting process? Could some biological patterns be due to chance?

Answer 22

Mutation occurs randomly by chance
Natural and sexual selection are non-random
Genetic drift occurs randomly by chance

Question 23

Genetic drift (definition)

Answer 23

sorting of individuals/alleles due to chance
refers to random sorting NOT the event that is responsible for the sorting

Question 24

In what cases is genetic drift more likely?

Answer 24

in small populations
for rare alleles

Question 25

If males and females in a population are similar in their body form, size, and color, then this is evidence that sexual selection is not occurring in this population (T/F)

Answer 25

False

Question 26

What process can explain bright coloration in male and female butterflies that helps to avoid predation?

Answer 26

sexual selection

Question 27

Behaviors can be affected by differences in protein structure (T/F)

Answer 27

True

Question 28

Behaviors can influence reproductive success (T/F)

Answer 28

True

Question 29

Scientists have not directly observed the vast majority of variation that exists in living organisms (T/F)

Answer 29

true

Question 30

What is something that you have in your body that is heritable?

Answer 30

Alleles

Question 31

How can offspring inherit alleles that are not present in the body cells of their parents?

Answer 31

Mutations during DNA replication when gametes were made in their parents

Question 32

There is selective pressure for organisms to have few or no new mutations in their genomes (T/F)

Answer 32

False

Question 33

Which of the following is true about the “factory of variation production’?
- it is constantly occurring in all organisms undergoing cell division
- it is an unpreventable process
- it is originally responsible for the production of new alleles

Answer 33

all of the above are true

Question 34

Genetic variants that are now common first originated as common variants in a large number of individuals (T/F)

Answer 34

false

Question 35

Environmental conditions determine which mutations are most likely to occur (T/F)

Answer 35

false

Question 36

In an evolutionary context, fitness refers to

Answer 36

the reproductive output of an individual

Question 37

What is the random component of natural selection?

Answer 37

the occurrence and types of mutations

Question 38

Which of the following is not necessary for natural selection?
- genetic variation
- environmental change
- differences among individuals in survival or reproduction
- transmission of alleles from parents to offspring

Answer 38

environmental change

Question 39

Allele frequencies in a very large population of antelope changing by chance from one year to the next is due to genetic drift (T/F)

Answer 39

true

Question 40

Can natural selection decrease the average fitness of individuals in the population?

Answer 40

No.

Question 41

Can natural selection increase the degree to which a population’s average phenotype fits its environment?

Answer 41

Yes.

Question 42

Genetic variation can be increased in a population by genetic drift (T/F)

Answer 42

false

Question 43

The direction of an allele frequency change that occurs when a population is suddenly reduced to a very small size is not predictable (T/F)

Answer 43

true (it is not predictable)