Download Evolution Study Guide

Evolution Study Guide
1. The process by which modern organisms have descended from ancient organisms is called ________, or change
over time.
2. Darwin traveled to the _________ Islands on a ship named the __________________.
3. Which scientist believed that acquired traits would be inherited by their offspring?
4. What was the name of the book Darwin published about his findings from his trip to the Galapagos?
5. Darwin’s theory of evolution is based on ________ _________, which is the process by which individuals that are
better suited to the environment survive and reproduce most successfully.
6. When groups within a species become new species is known as _____________________________.
7. What is the term used for an inherited characteristic that increases an organism’s chance of survival?
8. List Darwin’s 5 principles of natural selection.
9. Name 4 limited natural resources.
10. List 4 types of evidence in favor of evolution.
11. A _______ is a trace of a long, dead organism formed by sediments being deposited over the remains.
12. Where are the oldest fossils found?
13. Name some possible explanations for mass extinctions.
14. Structures that are similar in anatomy & are derived from a common ancestor but are not similar in function are
called ___________________.
15. The wing of a bird, the arm of a human, and the flipper of a whale are example of _____________ structures.
16. The wing of a butterfly and the wing of a bird are examples of ____________ structures.
17. _________ structures were useful in an ancestor but are not useful in the modern organism. (ex. tailbone in
humans)
18. ______________ is the process of evolution by which unrelated organisms come to resemble one another
because the habitat selects a beneficial phenotype.
19. ______________ is the process of evolution where two populations take on different phenotypes due to
adaptive radiation or artificial selection.
20. _____________ is the process of evolution where two different species have evolved with each other. (ex.
Insects and flowers)
21. What term is used when a species evolves into many different species due to adapting to different
environments?
22. What phrase is used to summarize Darwin’s idea that organisms that are the best adapted to their environment
and are able to reproduce?
23. Which of the following would scientists use to learn more about evolutionary history? (DNA, fats, nucleic acids,
glucose, amino acids, proteins, soil)
24. What is the most accurate way of determining evolutionary relationships?
25. What type of selection occurs when individuals at the outer ends of the curve have a higher fitness than the
ones in the middle?
26. A random change in a small population’s allele frequency is called __________________.
27. A ____________________ is the combined genetic information of all members of a particular population.
28. Name a feature that the different finches that Darwin observed have in common.
29. This occurs when two species reproduce at different times.
30. Why do some bacteria become resistant to antibiotics?