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Biology 4974/5974 D. F. Tomback Name Student ID number Fall 2013 100 points Evolution Exam #1: Take Home Exam Read this before taking the exam. Please word-process your answers. You are free to use class notes, papers posted on Canvas, and information in your textbook in order to answer questions. A few things to warn you about: I expect that answers will be written in complete, well-constructed sentences, with names and terminology spelled correctly. Misspellings and writing problems will result in deducted points. Make sure that you understand what the question is asking before writing an answer. Be very careful to use your own wording for answers. Students consciously or unconsciously may plagiarize when using source materials. Plagiarism violates the UCD honor code and public ethics and will result in an F on this assignment. You can take as much space as you need for your answers. (More is not always better if you are on the wrong track.) 1. (6 pts) Evolution is regarded as a theory in science. a. What is a theory? b. Explain the significance of the fact that evolution is a theory: what does that mean regarding this field of study? 2. (4 pts) a. Does the study of evolution follow the scientific method? b. What are at least two different approaches (sources of information) used by scientists who study evolution? i. ii 3. (4 pts) What is being defined below? a. “Unites individuals that share more characteristics (features) with one another than they do with any other organism.” b. “Two species bearing the same phenotype caused by common ancestry for the same genotype.” 4. (10 pts) What contribution did each of the following individuals make to the development of our understanding of biological species? a. George Buffon b. Carl von Linné (Linnaeus) c. Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck d. Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace 2 5. (6 pts) Present a summary of how natural selection works, listing the step by step processes involved. 6. (6 pts) Mayr, in his essay, “Darwin’s influence on modern thought,” brought up many good ideas. Pick two of the following and explain their meaning: “population thinking”, “historicity” in science, “Darwin does away with determinism”, or “theory of common descent.” 7. (10pts) Explain Darwin’s literary strategy or approach for the first four chapters of On the Origin of Species. a. Why did he begin with Chapter I, Variation under Domestication? b. Why did he then transition to Chapter II, Variation under Nature? c. What was he trying to show in Chapter III, Struggle for Existence? d. Why was establishing that variation exists among individuals of all species and demonstrating how selection works in domestic animals and plants so crucial to the main ideas in Chapter IV, Natural Selection? What were these ideas? 8. (10 pts) More questions based on On the Origin of Species a. This diagram from Chapter IV, Natural Selection, depicts what process? b. Referring to Chapter VII, Instinct, what does Darwin mean by “instinct”? What is his main point in this chapter? c. Referring to Chapter XIII, Mutual Affinities of Organic Beings, what is by the statement, “By means of descent with modification, all the great facts in morphology become intelligible?” 9. (3 pts) a. What theories account for the formation of the universe and the formation of our solar system? b. What is the relative abundance of normal matter, dark matter, and dark energy in the universe? 3 10. (6 pts) a. What was the composition and fate of the first atmosphere on earth? b. What was the composition of the second stable atmosphere? c. What was the general chemical property of the second atmosphere (hint: redox)? 11. (4 pts) List four possible places/conditions were organic molecules were first synthesized abiotically? i. ii. iii. iv. 12. (10 pts) What are two sources of data that demonstrate that simple organic molecules can readily be synthesized abiotically under roughly the conditions that existed on the young earth or in outer space? Explain both of these forms of evidence. i. ii. 13. (3 pts) Explain what is meant by the principle of self-assembly when it comes to the structure of protocells. 14. (10 pts) Briefly describe the structure and function of the following protocell models in terms of self-assembly and chemical organization. Which have the most potential, in your opinion, as an ancestral protocell? a. coacervate b. proteinoid microsphere c. liposome d. clay vesicle 15. (8 pts) Given that the protocells are not living organisms, explain how a sort of natural selection could function and improve their efficiency. Use the following parallels to develop your argument. variation within populations population growth struggle for existence natural selection descent with modification