Download Chapters 14-15 Reading Notes Key

NAME ______________________________________ PER _______ DATE_________
EVOLUTION CHAPTERS 14 &15 STUDY GUIDE
DIRECTIONS: Using your textbook, please answer the following questions.
Chapter 14 - History of Life
Section 1 – Biogenesis
1) Compare spontaneous generation (abiogenesis) to biogenesis.
o Biogenesis – living things can only arise from other living things
o Abiogenesis – living things can arise from nonliving things
2) Read the experiments described in this section and complete the following table:
Scientist
Francesco Redi
Lazarro Spallanzani
Louis Pasteur
Experiment
Tested the theory of spontaneous generation placed pieces of meat in two jars—one sealed and
one open to the air. Maggots found only in the
control jars that were open to air because that was
the only place where adult flies could reach the
meat to lay eggs.
Tested the theory of spontaneous generation- he
boiled meat broth in flasks and then sealed some
of the flasks and left others open to the air. The
broth in the open flasks became cloudy, while the
broth in the sealed flasks remained clear.
Disproved the theory of spontaneous generation
of microorganisms - curved-neck flasks did not
allow microorganisms to contaminate the broth
even though the flasks were open to the air.
When the necks were broken off,
microorganisms were able to reach the broth,
which became cloudy and contaminated.
Section 2- Earth’s History
3) How old is the earth? __4.6 billion years old____ What evidence do we have to support this? By
examining layers of the earth’s surface – by radiometric dating layers of sedimentary rock.
4) What is the half-life of an isotope?
The number of years it takes for ½ of any size sample of a radioactive isotope to decay to a stable
form
5) What is the radioactive isotope of Carbon? ___14______What is its half-life? ______5,730
years________
6) A student is told that her fossil contains ¼ the amount of C-14 that it originally had, how old is the
fossil? ____11,460 years old_______________
7) What are two possible sources of simple organic compounds on early earth?
They may have: 1) formed from gasses such as H 2 and N2, or 2)been deposited on Earth by
meteorites.
Section 3 – The First Life Forms
8) Describe three major scientific inferences about the first living cells on earth.
They would have been anaerobic (survived w/o oxygen), heterotrophic (could not make own food)
and been prokaryotic (cells w/out nucleus)
9) What is endosymbiosis?
A mutually beneficial relationship in which one organism lives inside another.
10) According to the endosymbiont theory - eukaryotic cells evolved when a relationship developed
between a small prokaryotic cell that lived inside of a larger prokaryotic cell.
Chapter 15 - Theory of Evolution
Section 1 – History of Evolutionary Thought
11) After visiting the Galapagos Islands, what did Darwin want to understand?
He wanted to understand how organisms changed over time
12) Define evolution: the process by which populations change over time
13) Describe Lamarck’s idea of inheritance of acquired characteristics:
He proposed that individuals could acquire traits during their lifetimes as a result of
experience or behavior, and then pass these traits to offspring
Is this idea still accepted? Why or why not?
No, it is not – because only characteristics that are genetically determined can be inherited
(by gametes)
14) What was the name of Darwin’s Ship that he sailed on? (hint – see Fig 15-3)___HMS
Beagle________________________
15) Describe Darwin’s idea of descent w/modification:
Newer species in the fossil record are modified descendants of older species
16) The mechanism that Darwin proposed for descent with modification was Natural Selection.
17) Briefly describe the four main points of natural selection:




Overproduction – more offspring can be produced than can survive to maturity
Genetic Variation – within a population, individuals have different traits
Struggle to Survive – individuals must compete in a struggle for existence –
Differential Reproduction – organisms with the best adaptations are most likely to survive and
reproduce, thus passing on these adaptations to the next generation
18) Define fitness in evolutionary terms:
A single organism’s genetic contribution to the next generation; the ability of an organism
to survive longer and reproduce more
19) Define adaptation:
A trait that makes an individual successful in its environment
Section 2- Evidence of Evolution
20) What is a fossil?
The remains or traces of an organism that died long ago
21) What is the principle of superposition?
A sedimentary rock layer is older than the layer’s above it and younger than the layers below it.
22) What are homologous structures? Give examples of two structures that are homologous:
Anatomical structures that occur in different species and that originated by heredity from a
structure in the most recent common ancestor of the species. (They have similar structures,
even if their functions are different)
EX/Forelimbs of human, penguin, alligator & bat
23) What are analogous structures? Give examples of two structures that are analogous:
They have similar appearance and function but different embryological origin (structure)
EX/ Wings of birds, bats and moths
24) the following statement: homologous structures have similar structure but different functions,
whereas analogous structures have different structure but similar functions.
25) What is a vestigial structure? Give an example.
Features that seem to serve no useful function, but resemble structures that have functional
roles in other organisms
Ex. Human tailbone, appendix & hind limb bones in whales
26) How are early stages of vertebrate embryological development evidence of a common ancestor?
Because they are so similar to one another in early stages – they share a common ancestor
and have inherited similar stages of development.
27) How are biological molecules used as evidence of evolution?
The number of amino acid differences in homologous proteins of different species is
proportional to the length of time that has passed since the two species shared a common
ancestor.
Section 3 – Evolution in Action
28) Compare convergent evolution to divergent evolution


Convergent = process by which different species evolve similar traits
Divergent = process in which descendants of a single ancestor diversity into species that
each fit different parts of the environment
29) How does adaptive radiation relate to divergent evolution?
It occurs when a population evolves to fill many parts of a new environment
30) Give two examples of coevolution, describing how each species influences the evolution of the
other:
 Hummingbirds and flowering plants – birds beaks are long and can get nectar at base of a
flower & flowers have structures that only these birds can reach.
 Humans and bacteria – antibiotic use has caused bacterial populations to evolve adaptations
to resist effects of some antibiotics
Geologic Time Scale – Use Table on pg 1085 in back of your book
31) How old is the earth? ____4.6billion years old, (4,600 million)__ What are the most common
organisms during this time? Stromatolites – bacterial mats that grow in layers forming rock-like
structures
32) List the three Eras that have occurred in geologic time from earliest to most recent.
 Paleozoic
 Mesozoic
 Cenozoic
33) What similar event occurred at the end of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic Eras?
Mass extinctions (these are what usually occur to mark the end of an Era)
34) What Period are we currently in? __Quaternary_ Epoch? ___Holocene_
35) Put the following organisms in order (number 1-4) from earliest(1) to most recently evolved(4):
__3__Dinosaurs
__2__fish
__1__land plants
__4__mammals