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Evolution Exam Study Guide
Name: _____________________________________
Explain how each line of Biology has added evidence to the theory of Evolution
Embryology
DNA
Homologous & Analogous
Structures
Vestigial Structures
Fossils
Define each of the following:
Fitness: _________________________________________________________________________________
Success: _________________________________________________________________________________
Adaptation: _____________________________________________________________________________
Species: _________________________________________________________________________________
Speciation: ______________________________________________________________________________
Natural selection: _________________________________________________________________________
Selective Pressures: _______________________________________________________________________
Evolution:_______________________________________________________________________________
Analysis of Natural Selection
Below is a graph of a population of frogs that live in a pond near a chemical plant. The pond is covered in
green plants and algae. The original population of frogs is mostly green, with a few variations in color. One
day the plant has a chemical spill and it kills off most of the green plant and algae in the pond.
Number of Frogs
Grey
Green
Brown
Black
1. Describe the selective pressures in the population and what adaptation in the population changes.
Evidence for change across time
2.
Which of the two figures above is an example of homologous structures?
3. How do homologous structures provide evidence of a common ancestor?
4.
Which of the two figures above is an example of vestigial structures?
5. How do vestigial structures provide evidence of a common ancestor?
Use this information to answer questions 6 and 7.
Creature A’s DNA is 89% similar to Creature B’s.
Creature A’s DNA is 72% similar to Creature C’s.
6. To which creature is Creature A more closely related to: B or
C? How do you know?
7. What does this say about how long ago A and B shared a common ancestor, compared to how long ago
A and C shared a common ancestor?
Remember, DNA gets transcribed and translated into amino acids. Examine the amino acid sequences
below for hemoglobin. Use the table to answer questions 8 and 9.
8.
Which organism is most closely related to the horse? How do you know?
9. Which is more closely related to the chimpanzee, the gorilla or the
human? How do you know?
10. In the strata at right, which is older, the fossils in level B or the fossils
in level D? How do you know?
11.
Based on the embryo pictures to the left, which
organism is most closely related to the fish? How do you know?
12.
Based on the embryo pictures on the previous page,
which organisms would you say have a more recent common
ancestor? Why?
13. Based on the fossil record for horses at right, describe the evolution of the
horse.
14. Did the evolution of the horse happen to individuals or to the population? How
do you know?
Natural Selection
15. Madelyn and Michael were asked to describe natural selection in a population of bears.
Michael: There is a population of bears that have variations in fur color from black to brown and a few who are
white. The food they hunt has become scarce because other predators in the area are getting to the food first.
The bears move north and find food out on the ice and tundra. Over time this bear population becomes all white
by choosing to not produce color in their fur so that they may camouflage with the snow to hunt better.
Madelyn: There is a population of bears that have variations in fur color from black to brown and few who are
white. The food they hunt has become scarce because other predators in the area are getting to the food first.
The bears move north and find food out on the ice and tundra. Over time this bear population becomes white
because the ones with white colored fur are camouflaged by the snow when they hunt and they get more food.
They reproduce more since they have more food and become more common while the darker colored bears
starve and die out.
Who has a more accurate explanation, Madelyn or Michael? Why?
16. A definition of fitness is the ability to survive and produce offspring who can also survive and
reproduce. Below are descriptions of four male lions. According to this definition of fitness, which lion
would biologists consider the “fittest”? Explain why.
Name→
Age at death
# cubs fathered
# cubs surviving to adulthood
Size
George
13 years
19
15
10 feet
Dwayne
16 years
25
14
8.5 feet
Spot
12 years
20
14
9 feet
Tyrone
10 years
20
19
9 feet
Use this information to answer questions 17-18. There are 3 types of polar bears: ones with thick coats, ones with thin
coats and ones with medium coats. It is fall, soon to be winter. The temperatures are dropping rapidly and the bears must
be kept warm or they will freeze to death. Many of the bears have had 2 cubs each but due to the extreme temperatures,
many mothers only have one cub left.
17. Which polar bear will not benefit from natural selection: ones with thick
coats, ones with thin coats, or ones with medium coats? Why?
18. Identify the type of variation we are observing in the polar bear
population.
Use the figure below to describe how evolution by natural selection is occurring in this population of white and
grey mice for questions 19-22.
19.
Which color mice are more likely to survive and
reproduce? Why?
20.
Which color mice are more likely to slowly die
off? Why?
21.
Slowly over time, what color will most of the
mice be?
22. Which mice have higher fitness? Why?
Speciation
23. Describe how speciation can occur due to geographic isolation.
24. How do you know when enough change has occurred that two organisms may no longer be considered the same
species?
25. Is a liger a species? Why or why not?
Classification
26. What is cladistics?
27. How does cladistic taxonomy differ from
traditional taxonomy?
a. Cladistics emphasizes evolutionary
relationships while traditional taxonomy
puts more emphasis on appearance.
b. Traditional taxonomy depends on
distinguishing primitive from derived
characteristics.
c. Traditional taxonomy defines shared
derived characteristics while cladistics
does not.
d. There is little difference in these two
methods, as can be seen in this figure
28. Why does the cladistic view group birds with crocodiles?
a. They are clustered alphabetically.
b. There is a close evolutionary relationship between these two groups.
c. Crocodiles diverged later than birds.
d. Birds are substantially different than mammals and were placed at the opposite end of the scheme.
29. Use the following data table to construct a cladogram of the major plant groups.
Organism
Vascular Tissue Flowers Seeds
Mosses
0
0
0
Pine Trees
1
0
1
Flowering Plants 1
1
1
Ferns
1
0
0