Week 4: Vocab

Question 1

Evolution

Answer 1

Theory that explains how all living organisms are related and how existing populations adapt to their environments and new species arise.

Question 2

Variation

Answer 2

Traits that differ (often by geographic location)

Question 3

Adaptation

Answer 3

A change by a population to better align with specific environmental conditions

Question 4

Founder Effect

Answer 4

A special case of genetic drift in which a few individuals of a population leave or are forced to leave and begin a new population

Question 5

Gene Pool

Answer 5

A gene pool refers to the combination of all the genes (including alleles) present in a reproducing population or species. A large gene pool has extensive genomic diversity and is better able to withstand environmental challenges.

Question 6

Lactose

Answer 6

Lactose is a sugar found in milk and milk products. Lactose intolerance happens when your small intestine does not make enough of a digestive enzyme called lactase.

Question 7

Biogeography

Answer 7

The study of where different species live throughout the world

Question 8

Evolutionary Fitness

Answer 8

Evolutionary Fitness is how well a species is able to reproduce in its environment. If they’re no longer reproducing then they are no longer evolutionarily fit.

Question 9

Speciation

Answer 9

A process by which species branch off from existing species to form new species

Question 10

Genetic Isolation

Answer 10

Something causes a population to be divided so that they cannot interbreed

Question 11

Lactase

Answer 11

Enzyme that breaks down lactose

Question 12

Natural Selection

Answer 12

The mechanism by which individuals with certain heritable traits have an increased chance of surviving and producing offspring

Question 13

Kin Selection

Answer 13

Selection for behaviours that help your relatives survive and reproduce

Question 14

Biological Species Concept

Answer 14

It defines a species as genetically distinct, independently evolving units

Question 15

Reinforcement

Answer 15

Natural selection that acts to reduce hybrid formation

Question 16

Mutation

Answer 16

Change in DNA

Question 17

Allele Frequency

Answer 17

The number of alleles present in a population

Question 18

Genetic Drift

Answer 18

Random changes in the frequency of an allele

Question 19

Genetic Divergence

Answer 19

When the founding members of a new population differ from each other genetically

Natural selection will increase/decrease the frequency of mutations, diverging the original species genetically

Question 20

Evolutionary Tree

Answer 20

A diagram that takes into account the degrees of similarity among a species based on their physical characteristics and genes

Question 21

Dispersal

Answer 21

A small number of individuals migrate to a new habitat and form a new population