Download 111221_AP_Evo_Misconceptions

AP Biology
Head Lice, Misconceptions, molecular switches, and more
1. Describe the evidence that human head lice present which provides dates
when human ancestors (a)began to wear clothing, and (b) lost body hair.
2. It can be argued that natural selection is not working on humans at a rate
similar to our not-so-distant past, as modern medical care and nutrition
have reduced the effect of early mortality on human evolution. As such,
are humans still evolving? If so, based on the video with Dr. Van Arsdale,
what is different about modern human evolution?
3. Go to Mr. Mason's website and click on the link labeled "Evolution –
Variation and Time". Open this in a separate tab for later access.
a. Click on the link labeled "Things you may not know about
evolution". This slideshow explains some of the most common
misconceptions about evolution. There are 14 slides, but a couple
of the concepts explained cover more than one slide. Select 8 of
the ideas presented and give a short (1-2 sentence) explanation of
the idea along with a note about the example provided.
i. example: 1. Organisms selected for by evolution don't need
to be perfect, just better than their competition. The first
known vertebrate on land, Tiktaalik, was likely slow, but was
able to outcompete others and avoid predators by its ability
to move on land.
b. Go back to my website and in a separate tab click on the link
labeled "Evolution - Sources of variation", then the link labeled
“Sources of Variation” and answer the following questions in note
form:
i. Roughly how many mutations do you have in your cells that
were not present in your parents?
ii. What might the difference be between mutations that occur
in the coding region of a gene compared to the control
region?
iii. What is the primary factor determining whether a mutation
is harmful, helpful, or benign?
iv. What is the other factor (besides mutation) that creates
variation, and how does this differ between sexually and
asexually reproducing populations?
c. Choose two more of the links on this site to explore. Look through
both pages of links that you previously opened. Work your way
through the simulation or slideshow and record notes on what you
learn. I would suggest checking out the Old Genes, New Tricks
section, as this explains how very minor changes in DNA can lead
to fundamentally different functions of already useful genes.
Record notes and that you show evidence of learning and
understanding.
d. See part c.
4. Thinking back to the beginning of this unit (or class), what do you think
was one of your primary misconceptions about evolution? What idea did
you previously have, and what has changed about your understanding of
this idea? (If you can realistically say that you had a very solid
understanding of the principles and mechanisms of evolution, consider
discussing what about evolution you still don't understand. We've covered
it for a few weeks, but there is still a lot that we haven't explored. What
still doesn't make much sense or is still a bit confusing?)