KEY
NAME
ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY
EVOLUTION REVIEW SHEET
Background to Evolution
1. What is the process by which a population changes over a very long time?
______EVOLUTION____________________________
2. What are the remains of living things found in rock called? (This can show
that an organism has changed over time.) __FOSSILS__________________________
3. Define “Survival of the Fittest”:
THE ORGANISMS THAT ALREADY
HAVE INHERITABLE TRAITS WELL-ADAPTED TO SURVIVAL WILL LIVE
AND REPRODUCE TO PASS ON THEIR TRAIT TO THEIR OFFSPRING.
4. Who is the scientist that said that giraffes could stretch their necks longer
to reach food and then pass that on to their offspring?
________LAMARCK______________________________
5. How do traits get passed on? ____GENETIC
INHERITANCE________________________________
6. In Darwin’s time, how old did people think the Earth? ___10,000
YEARS_______________
Charles Darwin:
1. What islands did Charles Darwin go to? __GALAPAGOS ISLANDS________
2. Name an organism that Darwin observed that had adaptations for their
particular environment. ___FINCHES, TURTLES_______
3. What was the name of Darwin’s book that described natural selection
and evolution? ____ORIGIN OF SPECIES_________________
4. Explain why survival of the fittest is not always survival of the strongest
and give one example.
____________________________________________________________________________
____SURVIVAL DEPENDS ONLY ON WHAT TRAITS ARE BEST FOR
LIVING AND PASSING ON ADAPTATIONS THROUGH INHERITANCE.
EX: SKUNKS HAVE SMELL TO REPEL PREDATORS- NOT STRONGEST,
JUST STINKIEST!
Which moths were the most common before the pollution from the
Industrial Revolution?_____LIGHT MOTHS__________
5. Which moths were the most common after the pollution on the trees
from the Industrial Revolution?__DARK MOTHS______
6. Did the color of the moth population change over time (re: “evolve”) ?
____THE MOTHS WITH THE COLOR BEST SUITED TO SURVIVE IN
THEIR PARTICULAR ENVIRONMENT, PRODUCED MORE AND MORE
MOTHS EACH GENERATION THAT ALSO INHERITED THE MOST
SUITABLE COLOR FOR SURVIVAL.______
What are the 4 parts need for Natural Selection
1.
2.
3.
4.
Variation
Not all organisms will survive
Adaptations/Survival of the Fittest
Inheritance
Evidence of Evolution
Name 2 of the 6 types of evidence that show evolution AND explain how they
support evolution.
FOSSILS- COMPARE OLDER AND NEWER SPECIES OF BONES, OBSERVE
CHANGES OVER TIME
HOMOLOGOUS STRUCTURES- COMMON BONE STURCTURE SUPPORTS
IDEA OF COMMON ANCESTOR FROM WHICH THEY EVOLVED
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION- SEE SIMILARITIES IN ORGANISMS SPREAD
THROUGHOUT THE CONTINENTS OF THE WORLD, ETC.
VESTIGIAL STRUCTURES- PARTS THAT FUNCTIONED IN ANCESTRAL
SPECIES BUT NO LONGER SERVE A MODERN FUNCTION. SHOWS THAT
ORGANISMS CHANGED OVER TIME.
SIMILARITIES IN DEVELOPMENT- EMBRYOS OF VERTEBRATES DEVELOP
AS EMBRYOS IN A SIMILAR MANNER DUE TO THEIR COMMON ANCESTOR
DNA/MOLECULAR EVIDENCE- COMPARE SEQUENCE DIFFERENCES
AMONG ORGANISMS. THE LESS THE DIFFERENCES, THE MORE CLOSELY
RELATED
3. What are the structures called that a similar
internal structure but have evolved to perform
different functions?
_____HOMOLOGOUS STRUCTURES__________
4. What are “vestigial structures”? AND give an example
STRUCTURES THAT HAD A FUNCTION IN ANCESTRAL SPECIES BUT
NO LONGER FUNCTION IN MODERN SPECIES. EX: APPENDIX,
NICTITATING MEMBRANE, TAIL BONE, WHALES HAVE HIP
BONES_____________
5. What are the structures that
perform a similar function but
are not from a recent common
ancestor. They have come about
due to similar environmental pressures.
______ANALOGOUS STRUCTURES_________________
6. The chart compares the
number of DNA bases that are
DIFFERENT between organisms
for a particular gene. Which
organism in the chart are
humans MOST closely related to
(meaning they have a more recent
common ancestor) _______PIG- 13
DIFFERENCES_______
8. Organisms of closely related species also look similar during development.
During which stage of development do they look most similar?
______EMBRYOS!____________ (hint: use picture below)
9. Explain how resistance to antibiotics has shown evidence of natural
selection.
ANTIBIOTICS ARE USED TO KILL BACTERIAL INFECTIONS. BACTERIA
REPRODUCE VERY FREQUENTLY, AND AS A RESULT, MUTATIONS ARE
QUITE COMMON. IF SOME BACTERIA EVOLVE AN ADAPTATION THAT
MAKES THEM RESIST DYING FROM THE ANTIBIOTIC, THEN THEY WILL
SRUVIVE TO REPRODUCE AND PASS ON THAT TRAIT TO THE NEXT
GENERATIONS. IF THE SAME ANTIBIOTIC CONTINUES TO BE USED,
EVENTUALLY IT WILL BE INEFFECTIVE.
10. Provide two organisms and an adaptation that has allowed them to
survive in their environment
EASY ENOUGH- REMEMBER THE PRESENTATIONS!