NATURAL HISTORY EXAM #2 STUDY GUIDE – Spring 2008
Topics To Be Covered: Everything since the last exam!
There will be a few general questions related to labs and field trips.
This is a list of questions emphasizing key lecture topics which you should be able to explain. If you
can correctly answer these questions in writing or verbally, then you are well prepared for the
exam. If you simply read the questions and tell yourself “I know that,” you might discover too late that
you do not know it very well at all!
All answers can be obtained from your notes and assigned reading.
My office hours and e-mail are on the syllabus should you have additional questions.
Refer to syllabus for reading assignments.
SOME TERMS TO BE FAMILIAR WITH (this is not an all-inclusive list!)
Algae – red, brown, green
Allele
Amoeboid
Angiosperm
Angiosperm
Asexual reproduction
Autotroph
Binomial nomenclature
Biodiversity
Cilia
Class
Colony
Comparative morphology
Convergent evolution
Diatom
Dinoflagellate
Divergent evolution
DNA
Domain
Embryo
Endosperm
Endosymbiosis
Eukaryote
Evolution
Evolutionary adaptation
External fertilization
Family
Ferns and fern allies
Flagella
Fruit vs. Seed
Fungus (plural = fungi)
Gene
Gene pool
Genetic diversity
Genus (plural = genera)
Gymnosperm
Heterotroph
Hypha (plural = hyphae)
Hyphae
Internal fertilization
Kelp
Kingdom
Lichen
Linnaeus
Lower Vascular plant
Macroevolution
Microevolution
Mold
Motile
Multicellular
Mushroom
Mutualism
Mutation
Mycelium (plural = mycelia)
Mycorrhizal fungus
Natural Selection
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Nonvascular plant
Nucleus
Order
Phylum (plural – phyla)
Plant
Prokaryote
Protist
Pseodopod
Saprobe/ saprophyte
Seed coat
Seedless vascular plants
Sessile
Sexual reproduction
Slime mold
Species
Specific epithet
Spores
Systematics
Taxonomy
Unicellular
Vascular
Yeast
The following questions emphasize key concepts, but are NOT all
inclusive. If I covered it in lecture, be prepared to see it on the exam.
NATURAL SELECTION AND EVOLUTION
FROM HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT #7:
1. What is artificial selection? Give some examples of artificial selection
2. How is natural selection different from artificial selection?
3. How does natural selection lead to evolution?
4. What is meant by the statement: individuals do not evolve; populations evolve?
5. What is genetic diversity and why is it important?
6. Explain the evolution of - peppered moths in England (as covered in the film and textbook).
7. Define species
8. Darwin did not introduce the idea that evolution occurs - it was that already an accepted idea. So
what idea did Darwin introduce that was so novel at the time?
9. What is the hypothesis of punctuated equilibrium say about the rate at which evolution occurs?
10. What is sexual selection?
11. What is kin selection?
ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS:
12. Are all mutations beneficial? Are all mutations harmful? Are mutations relatively common or rare?
13. What is the only way totally new alleles are introduced into a population?
14. Can natural selection reduce genetic diversity? Give an example.
15. How do phenomena such as the founder effect or the bottleneck effect reduce genetic diversity
and influence the evolution of a population?
16. Define species
17. What is the proper way to write the scientific name of a living organism?
18. Who was Linnaeus and why is he important to science?
19. What was the Theory of Uniformity and what was its significance to Darwin?
20. Who was Alfred Wallace?
21. Describe how fossil evidence supports evolutionary theory. (CH 17)
22. Describe how the study of comparative morphology supports evolutionary theory. (CH 17)
23. Describe how the study of patterns of development supports evolutionary theory. (CH 17)
24. Describe how biochemical evidence (DNA, RNA, proteins) supports evolutionary theory. (CH 17)
25. When is a population not evolving? (CH 18)
26. Bacteria are rapidly evolving resistance to antibiotics as explained in class and shown in the film.
Explain.
27. What other organisms are evolving resistances to the weapons humans use against the,? (CH
18)
28. Natural selection is the primary force driving evolution. Is it the only force? Explain. (CH 18)
29. If a species is suddenly faced with a substantial change in its environment, will it necessarily
evolve in response to that change?
30. What happens to species that lack features that allow them to evolve in response to
environmental changes?
31. What is a reproductive isolating mechanism? Give 1-2 examples. (CH 19)
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BIODIVERSITY
VERY IMPORTANT CONCEPTS TO UNDERSTAND

Be able to describe and distinguish among all of the groups of organisms we covered in class
and give an example of each.
For example:
What are the major features that distinguish a nonvascular plant from a lower vascular plant?
The functional ecological unit of a fungus is a ___________, which is composed of many
__________.



Compare and contrast the major groups of living organisms we have reveiwed in class so far.
Compare and contrast nonvascular plants, lower vascular plants, early seed plants
(gymnosperms) and flowering plants (angiosperms) with respect to: ability to live and
reproduce away from wet environments, vascular tissue (“plumbing”), mechanism of
reproduction, size.
A FEW SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT ...
PROTISTS, PROKARYOTES, VIRUSES
32.
What characteristics, if any, distinguish the protists from other eukaryotic organisms?
33. What characteristics of all prokaryotes distinguish them from organisms in other domains?
34. Protists can be grouped into 3 types – what are they? Give an example of each.
35. Compare and contrast the major types of photosynthetic protists.
36. What is a prokaryote? Give an example of a living organism that is prokaryotic.
37. Why are there two domains of prokaryotes?
38. How do prokaryotes reproduce?
39. Where can Archaea be found?
40. Is a virus living or nonliving? Explain why it is difficult to decide.
41. Are any bacteria photosynthetic?
42. What causes red tides?
43. Which group of protists makes of the kelp forests in Southern California?
44. Which protists are photosynthetic?
45. Which algae are most closely related to plants?
46. Are all protists really members of one kingdom?
FUNGI
47. What are the common characteristics of all fungi that distinguishes them from organisms in other
kingdoms?
48. Describe two ways fungi are important ecologically.
49. Describe two ways fungi are important to humans.
50. What is a lichen?
51. How do fungi obtain food?
52. What are fungal cells like? Compare them to animal cells, plants cells, and bacterial cells.
53. Can fungi reproduce sexually? Asexually?
PLANTS
54. What are the common characteristics of all plants that distinguishes them from organisms in other
kingdoms?
55. What is the most abundant group of plants on earth?
56. What features allowed the bryophytes to live on land?
57. What features do bryophytes have that restrict them to wet habitats?
58. What is the adaptive value of vascular tissue?
59. What is the adaptive value of seeds and do all seed plants have flowers?
60. Where is sperm carried in angiosperms?
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61. What is the function of flowers and how have they helped angiosperms become so successful?
62. What is the function of fruit and how have they helped angiosperms become so successful?
63. What does a seed plant provide its embryo that a nonseed plant lacks? i.e. What are the parts of a
seed and what is the function of each part?
GENERAL
64. Name a group of organisms that includes unicellular (single celled) individuals.
65. Are plants prokaryotes or eukaryotes? Animals? Fungi? Protists?
66. Compare and contrast sexual vs. asexual reproduction – what are the pros and cons of each, in an
evolutionary sense?
67. Which organisms are the most important decomposers?
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