Unit 3 Evolution (Final)

Question 1

a structure, behaviour or physiological process that helps an organism survive and reproduce in a particular environment. are the result of a gradual change in the genetic traits of members of a population over time.

Answer 1

Adaptation

Question 2

a visible or invisible difference among some members of a population. Offspring have a combination of genetic material from both parents. Through sexual reproduction, parents pass down hereditary information (genes) to their offspring. The
number of possible combinations of genes that offspring can inherit from their parents results in great genetic this among individuals within a population.

Answer 2

Variation

Question 3

heritable characteristic that improves an organism’s chance of
survival in its environment

Answer 3

Selective advantage

Question 4

process whereby the characteristics of a population of organisms change over time because individuals with certain heritable traits survive specific local environmental conditions and pass down their traits to their offspring

Answer 4

natural selection

Question 5

environmental condition or conditions that select for certain characteristics of individuals, and
select against others

Answer 5

Selective pressure

Question 6

a modification in an organism’s structure or function that develops during its lifetime, often as a response to environmental factors or its own actions

Answer 6

Acquired Characteristics

Question 7

the process where humans deliberately choose which organisms reproduce based on desirable traits, leading to changes in the characteristics of a population over generations.

Answer 7

Artificial Selection

Question 8

remains or traces of past life preserved in sedimentary rock, which reveal the history of life
on Earth

Answer 8

Fossil record

Question 9

fossils that show intermediary links between groups of organisms
Ex. Fossils of Archaeopteryx show a transitional stage in the fossil record because this species had characteristics of both reptiles (dinosaurs) and birds. Archaeopteryx had feathers, but, unlike any modern bird, it also had teeth, claws on its wings, and a bony tail

Answer 9

Transitional fossils

Question 10

the study of the past and present geographical distribution of species

Answer 10

Biogeography

Question 11

physical features with the same evolutionary origin and
underlying structural elements, but that may have different functions

Answer 11

Homologous structures

Question 12

these are structures that have different origins but similar function
(ex. Bird and insect wings)

Answer 12

Analogous structures

Question 13

This is a comparison of embryos from various species to indicate relationships among organisms. Many organisms have similar stages of development. For example, all vertebrates go through a stage having a
gill pouch.

Answer 13

embryology

Question 14

tendency among species that are not closely related to develop
similar body plans when living under the same conditions

Answer 14

Convergent evolution

Question 15

these are structures that were functional in ancestors, but have no current function (pelvic bone in baleen whales, wings in ostriches)

Answer 15

Vestigial Structures

Question 16

Scientists can infer how closely related two species are by comparing sequences in amino acids, RNA, and DNA, or by
comparing chromosomes as a whole. Similar patterns can indicate evolutionary relationships

Answer 16

Molecular structures

Question 17

the formation of new species

Answer 17

Speciation

Question 18

feature such as mountain that physically separates populations and so prevents them from interbreeding

Answer 18

Geographical barrier

Question 19

features of different populations that keep them reproductively isolated, even when they exist in the same geographic area

Answer 19

Biological barrier

Question 20

biological barrier in which species-specific signals or behaviours prevent interbreeding with closely
related species

Answer 20

Behavioural isolation

Question 21

biological barrier in which different species live in the same general area, but use different habitats, and so rarely encounter each other

Answer 21

Habitat isolation

Question 22

timing barriers that prevent species in the same habitat from interbreeding; species may mate or flower at different times of the day, in different seasons, or in different years

Answer 22

temporal isolation

Question 23

biological barrier in which closely related species have incompatible reproductive structures, and so
either cannot mate, or, in the case of plants, cannot be pollinated by the same species of pollinator

Answer 23

Mechanical isolation

Question 24

biological barrier, such as a chemical marker on an egg, that prevents eggs and sperm from different species fusing to form a zygote

Answer 24

Gametic isolation

Question 25

a genetic incompatibility of interbred species that stops development of the hybrid zygote during its development

Answer 25

hybrid inviability

Question 26

a biological barrier that exists between two species because, although they can mate and produce hybrid offspring, the offspring are sterile

Answer 26

hybrid sterility

Question 27

a biological barrier that occurs when first generation hybrids mate with each other or with an individual from either parent species, and the offspring are either sterile or weak

Answer 27

Hybrid breakdown

Question 28

diversification of a common ancestral species into a variety of differently adapted species Ex. Finches of the Galapagos Islands: Members of the ancestral species of Galápagos finches reached one of the islands in the archipelago, possibly as a result of being blown off course in a tropical storm. Unable to return to the mainland, the ancestral species evolved differently from their mainland relative. The ancestral birds, and their successive generations, have since spread through the islands. New species developed as they evolved in response to the unique environments on individual islands

Answer 28

Adaptive radiation

Question 29

model that describes evolution as slow, steady, and linear, with the accumulation of many small changes producing large changes

Answer 29

Gradualism

Question 30

model that describes evolution as consisting of long periods of stasis, interrupted by periods of rapid change

Answer 30

Punctuated equilibrium

Question 31

a group of individuals of the same species living in the same geographic area and capable of interbreeding

Answer 31

Population

Question 32

the largest group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring in a natural setting

Answer 32

species

Question 33

are a source of variation in populations. They happen continuously in the DNA of any living organism. They can occur spontaneously, when DNA is copied before a cell divides.

Answer 33

Mutations

Question 34

the process of reciprocal evolutionary change that occurs between pairs of species or among groups of species as they interact with one another. Ex. predator-prey relationship, flowering plants and their pollinators.

Answer 34

Co evolution

Question 35

the variety of life on Earth at all levels of biological organization, from genes to ecosystems, and encompasses the evolutionary, ecological, and cultural processes that sustain it

Answer 35

Biodiversity

Question 36

the relative change in genetic traits of populations that occurs over successive generations and includes microevolution and macroevolution.

Answer 36

evolution

Question 37

fossils that are known to be common during a particular time, and so indicate the age of the rock they are found in

Answer 37

index fossils

Question 38

method of dating rocks and minerals that uses measurements of certain radioactive isotopes to calculate absolute age in years. Ex. Carbon-14 has a half-life of 5730 years. In other words, every 5730 years, half of the carbon-14 in a sample will decay into nitrogen-14. Scientists can compare the ratio of carbon-14 to nitrogen-14 in a fossil to determine its age.

Answer 38

radioactive dating

Question 39

describes the conditions under which allele and genotype frequencies in a population will remain constant from generation to generation. Essentially, it outlines the scenario where a population is not evolving, serving as a baseline for comparison to detect evolutionary change.

Answer 39

Hardy Weinberg Principle,

Question 40

the combination of all the genes (including alleles) present in a reproducing population or species.

Answer 40

gene pool

Question 41

the proportion of individuals in a population that possess a specific genotype. It's calculated by dividing the number of individuals with that genotype by the total number of individuals in the population.

Answer 41

genotype frequency

Question 42

the proportion of individuals in a population that exhibit a particular observable trait or phenotype. It's a way to quantify the diversity of traits within a population by indicating how often a specific ------- appears.

Answer 42

phenotype frequency

Question 43

how common a specific version of a gene (an allele) is within a population. It's calculated by dividing the number of times that allele appears by the total number of copies of that gene in the population. Changes in this frequencies over time are a key indicator of evolution.

Answer 43

allele frequency

Question 44

the reduced genetic diversity that occurs when a new population is established by a small number of individuals (founders) from a larger parent population (occurs when a new colony is started by a few members of the original population. This small population size means that the colony may have: reduced genetic variation from the original population. a non-representative sample of the genes in the original population.)

Answer 44

founder effect

Question 45

a phenomenon where a population's size is drastically reduced, often due to a catastrophic event, leading to a loss of genetic diversity. This reduction in population size results in a smaller, less diverse gene pool, making the surviving population more vulnerable to future environmental changes and diseases.

Answer 45

bottleneck effect