Chapter 15
Study Guide for the Chapter Test
Mr. Reissfelder
LHS
’08-‘09
Format:
25 Multiple Choice questions
1. (15.1-1) Discuss the evidence that convinced Charles Darwin (& Alfred Wallace)
that species could change over time.
Know Darwin’s term for selective breeding
Explain what Darwin was able to infer from his observations of artificial selection
2. (15.1-2) List & explain the four basic principles of natural selection.
Explain the relationship between natural selection & adaptation
Explain the relationship between the terms natural selection and evolution
3. (15.2-1) Describe how fossils provide evidence of evolution; explain the role of
intermediary fossils.
Explain why bone structures in different vertebrate animals have many similarities, even
though they are used in different ways
4. (15.2-2) Discuss the strengths of these types of morphological evidence: ancestral
& derived traits; homologous & vestigial structures, analogous
structures, comparative embryology.
Contrast homologous structures with vestigial structures (x2)
Be able to give or identify examples of derived traits
Explain why bone structures in different vertebrate animals have many similarities, even
though they are used in different ways (second time)
5. (15.2-3) Explain how comparative biochemistry & biogeography provide
evidence to support the idea of evolution.
Explain why tortoises on different islands in the Galapagos had slightly different
variations in their shells
6. (15.2-4) Explain the relationship between the terms adaptation & fitness; explain
how camouflage & mimicry are interrelated with adaptation & fitness.
Identify the type of morphological adaptation the California Kingsnake uses
Explain how an organism uses mimicry to avoid being eaten
Chapter 15 Test Study Guide continues on the back!!!
Chapter 15
Study Guide for the Chapter Test
CONTINUED
Mr. Reissfelder
LHS
’08-‘09
7. (15.3-1) Differentiate between the following mechanisms of evolution: population
genetics (Hardy-Weinberg), genetic drift (founder effect, genetic
bottleneck), gene flow, non-random mating, mutation, natural
selection (stabilizing, directional disruptive & sexual selection) and
reproductive isolation (prezygotic vs. postzygotic)
Explain why genes are the “raw material” for evolution
Explain why the ratio of phenotypes in a population remain the same if they are equally
well-adapted
Explain how natural selection acts on organisms’ phenotypes to create adaptive
advantages
Identify the type of natural selection which is affecting a population, given a description
of what has happening to that population
8. (15.3-2) Describe the factors that influence speciation: allopatric vs. sympatric
speciation.
Know what conditions which can cause speciation
Know what evidence shows that speciation has occurred
9. (15.3-2a) Compare & contrast these patterns of evolution: adaptive radiation,
coevolution, & convergent evolution.
Describe the type of evolutionary pattern that causes different animals on different
continents to have structural similarities.
Identify the type of speciation that occurs when one original ancestor species develops
into many different species which are closely related
10. (15.3-3) Contrast the two theories concerning the tempo of evolution: gradualism
vs. punctuated equilibrium.
Given a diagram or figure which shows the characteristic of that model, identify which
tempo of evolution is being shown