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Evolution Study Guide
1. What was Lamarck's fundamental explanation of evolution? What was wrong with it?
2. How does the fossil record support evolution? What two ways do scientists use the fossil record to
place organisms in their correct place on earth's time line?
3. Darwin was not the first scientist to propose that organisms changed over time. Why was Darwin
unique?
4. How does similarity between two species relate to the "distance" that they are related?
5. What is the first factor that needs to be met for evolution to occur in a population?
6. What is the sequence of events that occur to make a change in the genetic makeup of a population
over time?
7. What is the difference between convergent evolution and divergent e v o l u t i o n ?
8. What is the difference between homologous structures and analogous structures?
9. What is the most compelling piece of evidence that supports the idea that all organisms have a
common ancestor?
10. Do individuals evolve? Why or why not?
11. Did Darwin understand the concept of genetics? What did he understand regarding inheritable
traits (be general)?
12. Be able to explain the five ways evolution can occur in a population
a. Mutation
b. Sexual reproduction
c. Genetic drift
d. Natural selection
e. Gene flow
13. How would the expression of a mutation in an intron differ from a mutation in an exon?
14. Be able to use the Hardy Weinberg concepts to determine allele frequencies and genotypic
frequencies in a given population.
a. p+q=l
b. what is p?
c. what is q?
d. p2+2pq+q2=1
e. What does p2 represent?
f. What does 2pq represent?
g. What does q2 represent?
15. What is meant by the "fitness" of an individual?
16. What is a species?
17. How are species created?
18. What is the difference between allopatric isolation and sympatric isolation? Be able to explain the
six pre-reproductive barriers:
a. Geographic isolation
b. Ecologic isolation
c. Temporal isolation
d. Behavioral isolation
e. Mechanical isolation
f. Gametic isolation
19. What are the two mechanisms of gametic isolation?
20. Be able to explain the three post-reproductive barriers:
a. Reduced hybrid viability
b. Reduced hybrid fertility
c. Hybrid breakdown
21. What is adaptive radiation?
22. What is the difference between gradualism and punctuated e q u i l i b r i u m ?
23. What is the difference between analogous structures and homologous structures?
24. Be able to look at gene sequence similarity and predict relative closeness of species in an
evolutionary sense.
25. Was DNA or RNA thought to be the first genetic material?
26. Be able to calculate ages of fossils if given a half life and percentage of unstable isotope
remaining. Example - half life is 5,000 years. Only 12.5% of the unstable isotope remains. How
old is the fossil?
27. How old is the fossil record? How old is earth? How can continental drift can explain the current
distribution of species?
28. What is the strongest piece of evidence that supports the theory of endosymbiosis?
29. What is the significance of Hox genes?
30. Define and distinguish between microevolution and macroevolution.
31. Compare the definitions, advantages, and disadvantages of the different species concepts.
32. What is the difference between a prezygotic barrier and a postzygotic barrier in creating reproductive
isolation?
33. Explain how geologic processes can fragment populations and lead to speciation.
34. Explain how sympatric speciation can occur, noting examples in plants and animals.
35. Explain why polyploidy is important to modern agriculture. Explain how modern wheat evolved.
36. Explain how hybrid zones are useful in the study of reproductive isolation.
37. Describe the circumstances that led to the adaptive radiation of the Galápagos finches.
38. Compare the gradualism model and the punctuated equilibrium model of evolution. Explain how each
model applies to the fossil record.
39. Describe the conditions on the surface of the early Earth. Describe the current evidence supporting the
idea that life existed at least 3.5 billion years ago.
40. Describe the four stages that might have produced the first cells on Earth.
41. Describe the experiments of Dr. Stanley Miller and their significance in understanding how life might
have first evolved on Earth.
42. Describe the significance of protobionts and ribozymes in the origin of the first cells.
43. Explain why evolutionary trends do not reflect “directions” or “goals.”
44. Distinguish between homologous and analogous structures and provide examples of each. Describe the
process of convergent evolution.
45. Explain how molecular clocks are used to track evolutionary time. Describe the limits of this process.
46. Explain why a diagram of the tree of life is difficult to construct.
47. Describe two examples of natural selection known to occur in nature. Note three key points about how
natural selection works.
48. Explain how fossils form, noting examples of each process.
49. Explain how biogeography, comparative anatomy, comparative embryology, and molecular biology
support evolution.
50. Explain how evolutionary trees are constructed and used to represent ancestral relationships.
51. Define the gene pool, a population, and microevolution.
52. Explain how mutation and sexual recombination produce genetic variation.
53. Explain why prokaryotes can evolve more quickly than eukaryotes.
54. Describe the five conditions required for the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
55. Explain the significance of the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium to natural populations and to public health
science.
56. Explain how genetic bottlenecks threaten the survival of certain species.
57. Explain why natural selection is the only mechanism that leads to adaptive evolution.
58. Distinguish between stabilizing selection, directional selection, and disruptive selection. Describe an
example of each.
59. Define and compare intrasexual selection and intersexual selection.
60. Explain how antibiotic resistance has evolved.
61. Explain how genetic variation is maintained in populations.
62. Explain what is meant by neutral variation.
63. Give four reasons why natural selection cannot produce perfection.