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Evolution Unit Test Study Guide
1.
What does diversity mean?
Diversity means to have many different types
2. What is extinction? Give examples of what could cause extinction.
Extinction is the total loss of a species. It can be caused by environmental change, disease, loss of a food source,
etc.
3. What types of conditions are necessary to create a fossil?
Fossils are formed when they are \buried very quickly.
4. What parts of an organism are likely to become fossils in rock?
Bone, teeth and shells (hard parts)
5. What were the first types of organisms found on the Earth?
single celled organisms (bacteria)
6. What is a geologic column?
A diagram that shows layers of the earth and the organisms that live in those layers
7. What is the Law of Superposition?
A law that states that organisms found deeper in the earth are more likely older than the organisms found
above them
8. What is the difference between an observation and an inference?
An observation is something that you see, a data. An inference is an assumption you are making about the data
or observations made.
9. How old is the Earth?
4.5 billion years old
10. What is a mutation?
Any change in DNA
11. What is an adaptation?
Any mutation which makes you better suited to your environment
12. What is natural selection?
Natural selection states that organisms better suited/adapted to their environment are more likely to survive
and reproduce and pass those desirable traits on to their offspring.
13. Are mutations helpful or harmful? Explain your answer
Mutations can be helpful, harmful or neither. Some mutations in one situation may be a helpful thing, such as
having white fur in the arctic. But that same mutation could be a bad thing in a different environment. There
are also mutations that neither help or harm an individual/species
14. What are the names of the major geologic time periods? Which one are we currently living in?
Early Precambrian, late Precambrian, Early Paleozoic, late Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic.
We are living currently in the Cenozoic time period
15. What is the difference between inherited and acquired traits. Give an example for each type.
Inherited Traits are the traits that you inherit from your parents through your DNA. An example would be hair
color.
Acquired traits are the traits that occur during your lifetime and do not affect your DNA. An example would be
getting your ears pierced.
16. Where did Charles Darwin work with his finches?
The Galapagos Islands
17. What types of evidence are used to classify different species?
DNA evidence, and physical evidence such as body structures and fossils are used
18. Describe Lamark’s theory of evolution.
Lamark thought that individuals acquired traits during their lifetime and passed those traits on to their offspring,
slowly changing a species over time.
19. Describe Darwin’s theory of evolution by means of natural selection.
Darwin thought that individuals in a species varied due to mutation. The individuals that were better
suited/adapted to their environment survived and reproduced more than those less suited and passed down
their desirable traits until after many generations populations changed.
20. Explain what happened to the peppered moths during the industrial revolution.
There existed mostly white moths and some black moths. During the industrial revolution, the trees on which
the moths stayed were covered in black soot. Therefore the black moths became better suited and survived and
reproduced more black moths. The white moths were now easier to see and were eaten, reducing their
numbers. This changed the ratio of white to black moths in the population. When the industrial revolution
ended and pollution was cleared, the trees turned white again. We saw the white moths increase in number
while the black moths decreased. This occurred because of the change in the environment.