Download Chapter 15 Darwin`s Theory of Evolution pp

Name: _________________________________________ Block: __________ Date: _________________
Biology – Mrs. Northup
Evolution Homework Questions (Chapter 15-1 & 15-3, 16-1 & 16-3)
Directions: On a separate piece of paper, answer the following questions in complete sentences
(unless you are asked to create a diagram or chart). You may also email your responses to
[email protected].
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Chapter 15 Darwin’s Theory of Evolution (pp. 368-386)
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Chapter 15-1
The Puzzle of Life’s Diversity (pp. 368-372)
Due: __________________
1) Define evolution in your own words.
2) What scientist contributed most to our understanding of the process of Evolution?
3) What did Darwin realize about the plants and animals he observed and the environment that they
inhabited?
4) How could a fossil provide any evidence that organisms change over time?
5) What findings on the Galapagos Islands provided the basis for Darwin’s Theory of Evolution?
Bonus: What was the name of the “super continent”?
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DO NOT READ 15-2.
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Chapter 15-3
Darwin Presents His Case (pp. 378-386)
Due: __________________
1) What is natural variation?
2) Provide two types of natural variations found in dogs.
3) Explain the idea of “the struggle for existence” in your own words.
4) Explain the idea of “survival of the fittest” in your own words.
5) “Natural Selection” originates from the two words, “nature” and “select.” How does the common
definition of these words relate to how they are used in describing evolution?
6) What does the Principle of Common Descent really imply?
7) Recopy and complete the following table about the evidence for Evolution.
Evidence
Fossil Record
Geographic Distribution of Species
Homologous Body Structures
Similarities in Early Development
How does this support the Theory of Evolution?
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Chapter 16 Evolution of Populations (pp. 392-410)
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Chapter 16-1
Genes and Variation (pp. 392-396)
Due: __________________
1) Mutations and gene shuffling are the two reasons for genetic variations among a species. What
are three processes that shuffle genes?
2) Why would a gene pool with very little variation be dangerous for a species?
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DO NOT READ 16-2.
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Chapter 16-3
The Process of Speciation (pp. 404-410)
Due: __________________
1) What is the definition for species? Hint: Turn to page 64.
2) Recopy and complete the following table about the types of reproductive isolation.
Type of Reproductive Isolation
How can it result in a new species?
Behavioral
Geographic
Temporal (time)
3) Summarize how so many different finch species could have come from 1 species.
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Alternative Assessment:
Instead of answering the questions for Chapters 15 and 16 above, you may answer the following
three open response questions in their place.
Cactus
Euphorbia
1. Cacti in the Sonoran Desert in North America share many characteristics with Euphorbia in the
Sahara Desert in Africa. Both types of plants have reduced leaves, prickly spines, and fleshy stems
that contain water. Cacti and Euphorbia, however, are not closely related plants.
a. Describe how scientists used molecular evidence to determine that cacti and Euphorbia are not
closely related plants.
b. Usually organisms that share many physical characteristics are closely related. Explain why cacti
and Euphorbia evolved similar features.
c. Choose two similar characteristics of cacti and Euphorbia. Describe how each characteristic
benefits the plants in their environments.
2. The maps below show South America and Africa. Areas where fossils of the same extinct plant
species have been found are marked with a star.
a. Explain how the widely separated areas marked in Map 2 can have fossils of the same extinct
plant species.
b. In both South America and Africa, there are plants descended from this extinct species. These
modern plants are very different from one another. Explain how the extinct species has modern
descendants that came to be very different from one another.
3. The graph below relates the number of gray squirrels in a small population to their coat colors.
This squirrel population has been separated from other squirrel populations by a new highway
and several construction sites. The main predators of these squirrels are cats and hawks.
a. Assume that dark gray squirrels are very visible in this new environment. What is likely to happen to
the distribution of coat color in this squirrel population over several generations? Sketch a graph to
show the predicted distribution, and explain your answer.
b. Assume that dark gray squirrels are very visible on the ground, and light gray squirrels are very
visible in the trees. Explain what is likely to happen to the distribution of coat color in the squirrel
population over several generations. You may sketch a graph as part of your explanation.