CHAPTER 10
EVOLUTION
PART 13
Adaptation, Recent common ancestors,
Divergent evolution- Homologous features, Convergent-Analogous features, Parallel, Phylogenetic tree (cladogram)
Comparisons- Structural, (Homologous features, Embryology) Biochemical(DNA, Nuclear/ mitochondrial,
Hybridisation,Molecular clock, proteins-cytochrome C, haemoglobin), Biogeography.
Extinction.
Questions
What is a ‘recent common ancestor’?
What is a phylogenetic tree?
What is evolution? Is it a process or a result? Explain
Apart from fossils what other evidence supports evolution.
Distinguish between convergent, parallel and divergent evolution.
Can an individual organism become extinct?
1. (Question 24)
The scales of reptiles and the feathers of birds are considered to be homologous structures because they
A. have arisen as a result of similar selection pressures.
B. have a common evolutionary origin.
C. are both forms of skin covering.
D. serve a similar function.
2. (Question 22)
The most recent common ancestor of Homo and Kenyanthropus is represented on the diagram at
A. Z
B. Y
C. X
D. W
3.
(Question 13)
Populations of bacteria can evolve rapidly in response to changes in the environment.
One factor which contributes to this is that bacteria
A. have a single chromosome.
B. have a short generation time.
C. are single-celled organisms.
D. have a low rate of mutation.
4. (Question 15)
From this diagram it would be reasonable to conclude that
A. white-lipped snakes and black snakes lack a common ancestor.
B. tiger snakes share more characteristics with brown snakes than with swamp snakes.
C. death adders are more closely related to golden-crowned snakes than they are to tiger snakes.
D. broad-headed snakes share a more recent common ancestor with white-lipped snakes than they do with
swamp snakes.
5. (Question 17)
The shingleback lizard is closely related to the bluetongue lizard. The bluetongue has a long pointed tail and
smooth scales. The shingleback has a short stumpy tail and enlarged rough scales.
The evolution of these characteristics in the shingleback is an example of which type of evolution?
A. cultural
B. parallel
C. Divergent
D. convergent
A comparison was made between human, rabbit, mouse and chimpanzee of the
• DNA coding sequence of the globin gene
• DNA sequence in the introns of the globin gene
• Amino acid sequence of the globin polypeptide.
6. (Question 18)
It is possible to conclude from this data that
A. a human is more closely related to a mouse than to a rabbit.
B. the variation between chimpanzees and humans occurs in a region of the globin gene which would code
for amino acids.
C. the variation in the intron sequence between human and mouse would account for some of the differences
in the amino acid sequence.
D. the comparison between rabbit and human indicates that the differences in their DNA did not always make
a difference to the amino acid produced.
7.
(Question 19)
The common evolutionary ancestry of many organisms is reflected by a geographic distribution consistent with
the former supercontinent Gondwanaland.
An example of this is the distribution of
A. parastacid crayfish in South America, New Zealand, Australia and New Guinea.
B. bears in North and South America, Europe and Asia.
C. flying foxes in Australia, Asia, Africa and Europe.
D. mockingbirds in South and North America.
8. (Question 15)
Evidence for evolution includes data from comparative anatomy and embryology. When comparing two species such
evidence would be obtained from
A. chromosome numbers.
C. shared habitats.
B. mitochondrial DNA.
D. the presence of gill slits during development
9.
(Question 19)
The linking of the present-day distributions of organisms with past movements of continental plates is referred to as
A. continuous variation.
B. biogeography.
C. genetic drift.
D. biodiversity.
.
Trilobites are thought to be closely related to three other groups of fossil arthropods; helmetids, tegopeltids and
naraoids. The tegopeltids and helmetids are the two most closely related groups. These two groups are more closely
related to trilobites than they are to naraoids. The diagram below illustrates the evolutionary relationships between
these four groups.
b. Write the names of these four groups in the boxes at the top of the diagram below so that the evolutionary
relationships between them are consistent with the information provided.
c. Suggest one reason why all species of trilobites became extinct.
10. (Question 16)
Convergent evolution may produce similar structures in two different species.
This may lead to
A. analogy. B. homology. C. divergence. D. embryology.
11. (Question 17
The shark (a fish) and the dolphin (a mammal) are an example of
A. convergent evolution. B. allopatric speciation. C. divergent evolution.
D. species radiation.
12. (Question 25
Comparisons of the amino acid sequences of the α-globin polypeptide have been made between humans and a number
of other vertebrates. The number of differences is shown in the table below.
Based on the information provided, the correct placement of each animal on the figure to show the evolutionary
relationship is
A. V = cow, W = kangaroo, X = newt, Y = carp, Z = shark
B. V = shark, W = carp, X = newt, Y = kangaroo, Z = cow
C. V = carp, W = shark, X = kangaroo , Y = newt, Z = cow
D. V = kangaroo, W = cow, X = newt, Y = shark, Z = carp
Thylacinus cyanocephalus (Tasmanian tiger) was the largest living marsupial carnivore in Australia at the time
of European settlement. The thylacine is believed to have become extinct on 7 September 1936 when the last
captive thylacine died in the Hobart Zoo. There are thylacine fossils found in Tasmania and mainland Australia, but
when Europeans arrived in Australia living thylacines were only found in Tasmania.
d. Suggest why thylacines were not found in mainland Australia at the time of European settlement.
Since 1936 there have been many reported sightings of thylacines in Tasmania and along the southern coast of
Victoria.
e. Explain why scientists still believe thylacines are extinct.
The dingo is a eutherian mammal and the thylacine is a marsupial mammal. Scientists regard these two carnivores as
an example of convergent evolution.
f. Explain why scientists would regard the thylacine and the dingo as an example of convergent evolution.