CHAPTER 2
REVIEW QUESTIONS
2.1
Water is stable with little variation in temperature and salinity with different seasons; it is
buoyant and thus organisms can grow to a large size without skeletal support; the organism is
surrounded by many of its mineral requirements already in solution; external reproduction and
development is easily achieved.
2.2
Oxygen does not dissolve readily in water which limits most life forms to the upper zones
where wave action etc. traps oxygen from the air; water absorbs light so photosynthetic
organisms are limited to the upper zones; many nutrients are trapped in deep sea sediments.
2.3
Maintaining a water balance; preventing excess water loss by evaporation whilst maintaining a
moist surface for gas exchange; transporting water and dissolved substances and oxygen from
limited areas of uptake to the rest of the body cells; reproduction; severe fluctuations in
temperature, humidity, wind, light and other environmental conditions.
2.4
Classification refers to grouping things together.
2.5
Hierarchical classification places groups within groups.
2.6
E.g. music:
Music  Folk Music  Negro Spiritual  Ragtime Jazz  Rock and Roll
2.7
A species refers to a group of similar organisms whose members can interbreed with each
other in natural environments and produce fertile offspring.
2.8
The species has two names – the genus name which may be shared with other very closely
related species, and a specific name which describes that particular species.
2.9
Different common names are often used in different localities to describe the same species. By
using the scientific name, better communication is achieved when people from different areas
are discussing a species. E.g. the black faced cuckoo shrike is sometimes referred to as the
blue jay in western Queensland.
2.10
These languages were the original common languages of educated people and so the first
naming utilised them. The tradition has continued since they are ‘dead’ languages and thus the
meaning of the words does not change with current trends.
2.11
C: Dacus cucumis. Closely related species belong to the same genus.
2.12
A characteristic that distinguishes that group from all others.
2.13
Convergent evolution refers to the similar appearance of unrelated species due to adaptations
of each to similar environmental conditions. Divergent evolution occurs when closely related
species come to look more and more unalike due to their adaptations to very different
environments.
2.14
Homologous structures refer to structures which have a common origin, e.g. the wing of a
bird, the forelimb of a whale and the foreleg of a dog. Analogous structures have a similar
function but no common origin, e.g. the wing of a bat and an insect’s wing.
2.15
Internal and external structures, comparisons of fossil structures, life histories, embryology
and analysis of blood and other proteins.
2.16
Animals
Invertebrates
clam
oyster
snail
earthworm lobster jellyfish
fly
mosquito
prawn
Vertebrates
tuna
frog
turtle
snake
emu
baboon
sparrow whale
bear
horse
panther
lion
2.17
D: same class but different genera.
2.18
a. i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
Very large with big feet.
White headed with a wing-like foot.
Rat with white feet.
An organism that does not give birth to live young and has a bird-like snout or beak.
b. i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
Giant kangaroo.
White headed bat.
White footed rat.
Platypus.
2.19
Different taxonomists place varying emphases on characteristics, thus the classification system
one taxonomist uses may not be same as that used by another person.
2.20
Increased understanding of organisms and how they function and the continued discovery of
new organisms has shown that they cannot be neatly categorised into two kingdoms, e.g. some
organisms display characteristics intermediate between the two types.
2.21
They are prokaryotic in cell structure.
2.22
It could be a fungus or an animal. To distinguish between these you would need to know
whether it displayed locomotion or if it had a nervous system.
2.23
a.
1a
1b
2a
2b
3a
3b
4a
4b
5a
5b
6a
6b
Skin smooth and moist
Skin not smooth and moist
Feathers present
No feathers present
Scales or plates cover the body
No scales or plates covering the body
Limbs obvious
Limbs not obvious
Scales only covering the body
Scales and plate-like shell covering body
Female had abdominal pouch
No abdominal pouch in female
green tree frog
go to 2
emu
go to 3
go to 4
go to 6
go to 5
snake
lizard
turtle
koala
dingo
b.
Animals
Feather
Emu
No feathers
Hair
pouch
koala
no pouch
dingo
No hair
No scales
green tree frog
Scales
legs
plate-like shell
turtle
no legs
snake
no shell
lizard