Download (D)evil Evolution Review Questions

(D)evil Evolution Review
Questions
• Knowing and understanding scientific theories,
would you say that our understanding of
natural selection can be quite different 100
years from now? Explain.
• Use one of the examples of evolution to
explain how the process of natural selection
works.
• What do scientists mean when they say that
evolution cannot create super organisms,
because it has only a given set of genes that it
can work with.
• List the five aspects of natural selection.
• Describe how overpopulation and heritable
variation relate to evolution by natural
selection.
• Analyze the graph below, relate it to natural
selection:
• Analyze the data in the table below. Which two
organisms are the closest to humans? How do you
know? What other molecule can be used to draw
evolutionary relationships?
• The picture below shows a group of finches living
on the Galapagos islands. They all originated from
the same ancestor species. Provide a potential
explanation for their differences. Suggest a
possible mechanism of evolution that could drive
this process.
• How did Darwin contribute to the theory of
evolution?
• List 5 evidence that supports the theory of
evolution and describe how molecular evidence
can be used to support evolution.
• Differentiate between homology and analogy.
• Explain how we can use comparative anatomy
as an evidence of evolution. How can it lead to
mistaken conclusions about the relatedness of
two species?
• Differentiate between gene flow and genetic
drift.
Understanding Evolution: Problem-based discussion
Natural selection in Darwin’s finches
1) What characteristics of the graphs
show that there was variation in the
population? How much variation was in
the population in 1976? How much
variation was in the population in 1978?
2) What happened to the population
size between 1976 and 1978? What
other changes occurred in the
population?
3) Based on the data, what is the
approximate average beak depth of the
population in each year?
Ribozyme structure comes from Scott, W.G., Finch, J.T., Klug, A. (1995) The crystal structure of an all-RNA
hammerhead ribozyme: a proposed mechanism for RNA catalytic cleavage. Cell 81: 991-1002
Understanding Evolution: Problem-based discussion
Natural selection in Darwin’s finches
4) Based on these limited data, which
mode of selection seems to have
operated on the finches? What evidence
supports this idea? – AP only
5) What do you hypothesize could have
caused this change between 1976 and
1978? Describe a possible ecological
relationship between drought and beak
size.
6) Assume the drought continues for
another 2 years,. If natural selection is
occurring, what would you expect to see
in future generations? If the changes in
beak size are not due to natural
selection, but to drift, then what would
you expect to see in future generations?
Ribozyme structure comes from Scott, W.G., Finch, J.T., Klug, A. (1995) The crystal structure of an all-RNA
hammerhead ribozyme: a proposed mechanism for RNA catalytic cleavage. Cell 81: 991-1002
• List three mechanisms of evolution and
explain how one of these can change the
genetic makeup of a population.
• Differentiate between sexual selection and
natural selection.
• List three examples of evolution and explain
how one proves that evolution is a process
that takes place at any given time in the
history of life.
• Is it correct to say that “antibiotic use created
antibiotic resistance”? Why? Why not?