NAME: ___________________________
ZOOLOGY CHAPTER 1 REVIEW QUESTIONS
ANSWER QUESTIONS ON YOUR OWN PAPER.
1) Why is life difficult to define?
a. Many of the properties of living things are shared by non living things and it is difficult to
draw a clear line.
2) What are the basic chemical differences that distinguish living from nonliving systems?
a. Chemical uniqueness, nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. Most living
things have these chemicals in common.
3) Describe the hierarchical organization of life. How does this organization lead to the
emergence of new properties at different levels of biological complexity?
a. Macromolecules, subcellular structures, cells, tissue, organ, organ system, organism
b. Properties emerge at each level of organization that cannot be predicted by looking at
component parts.
4) What is the relationship between heredity and variation in reproducing biological
systems?
a. Heredity involves parent passing genetic traits to offspring. Variation is the production of
differences among the traits of different individuals.
5) Describe how evolution of complex organisms is compatible with the second law of
thermodynamics.
a. Living things can remain ordered or alive only as long as they are taking in and
converting energy sources.
6) What are the essential characteristics of science? Describe how evolutionary studies fit
these characteristics whereas “scientific creationism” or “intelligent-design theory” does
not.
a. Science is guided by Natural Law and any explanations must refer to natural law, it is
testable, conclusions are tentative and not necessarily the final word. It is falsifiable.
Creationism and Intelligent Design are not sciences as they do not follow these
guidelines.
7) Use studies of natural selection in British moth populations to illustrate the hypotheticodeductive method of science.
a. Observation (change in moths),
b. Question-why does pigment vary with habitat?
c. Hypothesis –Consumption of soot affects the pigment of the moth
d. Empirical Test-Do moths retain their offspring of both sets of parents are raised in a
common garden?
e. Conclusions-Offspring maintain parental coloring when raised in a common garden. Soot
does not affect pigment. Crossing light moths with dark moths produces a 3:1 ratio of
phenotypes as predicted by Mendelian genetics cross of heterozygous with homozygous
f. Publication-After more empirical testing investigating the genetic basis of moth coloring.
8) How do we distinguish the terms hypothesis-, theory, paradigm, and scientific fact?
a. Hypothesis is an educated guess that makes a testable prediction.
b. A theory is a hypothesis that has been useful in predicting empirical tests in a wide
variety of situations. (Natural Selection)
c. Paradigms are theories that are used to guide a great deal of research (evolutionary
paradigm)
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d. When new experiments revise a paradigm then a scientific revolution results (The
evolutionary paradigm defines all the biological sciences today.)
e. Scientific Fact-It is important to realize that our understanding of science can be
questioned at all levels. However, theories and paradigms that have continued to be
useful in predicting experiments and understanding the natural world are considered
“scientific fact”.
Contrast hypotheses of proximate causality with those of ultimate causality, including the
general methods of testing these hypotheses.
a. Proximate causes lend themselves to the experimental method.
b. Ultimate causes (distal) are investigated through the comparative method. Looking for
similarities and differences between organisms.
What are Darwin's five theories of evolution (as identified by Ernst Mayr)? Which are
accepted as fact and which continue to stir controversy among biologists?
a. Perpetual Change: The living world is constantly changing. (Science Fact)
b. Common Descent: all forms of life descend from a common ancestor (science fact)
c. Multiplication of Species: New species evolve by splitting and transforming older ones.
The term “species” and the process of forming new species is controversial.
d. Gradualism: large differences among organisms are due to the accumulation of small
differences over time. (Actively Studied)
e. Natural Selection: Variation exists, variation is inheritable, Some individuals leave more
offspring than others. Favorable traits increase the reproductive advantage of certain
individuals. (fact)
What major obstacle confronted Darwin's theory of natural selection when it was first
proposed? How was this obstacle overcome?
a. Darwin’s Theory of natural selection did not have a clear mechanism of heredity. Gregor
Mendel’s genetic experiment confirmed genetic inheritance with the chromosomal theory
of inheritance.
How does neo-Darwinism differ from Darwinism?
a. Neo-Darwinism incorporates the chromosomal theory of inheritance.
Describe the respective contributions of the genetic approach and cell biology to
formulating the chromosomal theory of inheritance.
a. The genetic approach has identified single gene and multiple gene inheritance. How
recessive genes can be masked in individuals. Cell biology was able to identify that
chromosomes follow a pattern similar to Mendel’s laws of inheritance.