Unit 7 Study Guide
NATURAL SELECTION
ENDURING UNDERSTANDINGS:
Changes occur in species resulting in biodiversity.
Variations within species provide a means for
adaptation and survival in a changing
environment.
Objective 9: NATURAL SELECTION
Evaluate the role of natural selection on survival of
the species..
Essential Questions:
1) Why do horses have hooves? (evol)
2) Why do some diseases become resistant to
treatment? (evol)
SELF-ASSESSMENT CHART
U = Unfamiliar (I can apply this target to a new situation.)
F = Familiar (I can apply this target to a present or prior situation.)
O = Objective Target (I can identify the target in a situation.)
1)
2)
3)
4)
6)
TARGET
Analyze evidence of change in species over time including
a. fossils
b. DNA/amino acid sequences
c. anatomical & physiological similarities
d. embryology
e. homologous structures
f. vestigial structures
Interpret a phylogenetic tree to evaluate common ancestry.
Demonstrate how natural selection can change allele
frequency over time
Apply the concept of how environmental change influences
(has an effect on) natural selection leading to.
a. diversity
b. speciation
c. loss of biodiversity
d. extinction
e. disruptive selection
f. stabilizing selection
g. directional selection
Investigate if certain organisms have variations that cause
them to be resistant to antimicrobial agents
7)
Utilize experimental design to analyze an experiment and/or
data and complete performance tasks successfully.
8)
9)
behavioral characteristics
a. physical characteristics
b. Although there is discussion and some activities
associated with this target, be prepared to have
unfamiliar examples in assessment situations.
Identify and illustrate that long-term survival of species is
dependent on a resource base that may be limited.
a.
b.
Evolution Study Guide - Student - (Revised June 18, 2008)
U
F
O
LESSONS
Evidences of Evolution PPT &
Concept Map
Amino Acid Sequencing Activity
Amino Acid Sequencing Activity
Allele Frequency Lab
Introduction to Natural
Selection PPT & Notes
Horse Evolution Activity
Peppered Moth Graphing
Activity
Finch Speciation Activity
Case of the Pesky Mosquitoes
Performance Task: AntibioticResistant Bacteria Lab
Performance Task: AntibioticResistant Bacteria Lab
Horse Evolution Activity
Peppered Moth Graphing
Activity
Finch Speciation Activity
Discussion: Animal Adaptations
to Diverse Environments
(mypisd)
Horse Evolution Activity
Finch Speciation Activity
While the Wolf’s Away
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SAMPLE TEST QUESTIONS
(These are samples of the type of questions which might be on the test. Questions may require students to use the
basic content to make applications, analyze, synthesize and evaluate information. Tests contain unit content
questions as well as general scientific processing questions.)
1. Which of these best illustrates natural selection?
A. An organism with favorable genetic variations will tend to survive and breed successfully.
B. A population monopolizes all of the resources in its habitat, forcing other species to migrate.
C. A community whose members work together utilizes all existing resources and migratory
routes.
D. The largest organisms in a species receive the only breeding opportunities.
2. A large island in the Pacific Ocean supports isolated populations of two groups of frogs. The
following observations of these frogs were recorded by scientists:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
Are different in color
Excrete different products
Live in different, isolated habitats
Can interbreed and produce fertile offspring
Which observation best supports the inference that these frogs belong to the same species?
A. Observation I
B. Observation II
C. Observation III
D. Observation IV
3. A single species of squirrel evolved over time into two species, each on opposite sides of the Grand
Canyon. This change was most likely due to
A. high mutation rates on one side.
B. low genetic diversity in the initial population.
C. the isolation of the two groups.
D. differences in reproductive rates.
NUMBERS OF REPRESENTATIVE SPECIES
Figure 5
Evolution Study Guide - Student - (Revised June 18, 2008)
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4. According to this information, which group demonstrated the greatest biodiversity during the
Cretaceous period?
A. dinosaurs
B. crocodilians
C. snakes
D. lizards
5. Which of these graphs shows the most stable population?
A.
C.
B.
D.
5. Organisms can have structures that are similar but perform different functions. The structures are
called
A. vestigial structures.
B. homologous structures.
Evolution Study Guide - Student - (Revised June 18, 2008)
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C. natural structures.
D. analogous structures.
6. Modern vertebrates have a similar number and location of bones as those found in fossil
vertebrates. A possible explanation for this similarity would be
A. organism needs for survival.
B. the struggle for existence.
C. a common ancestor.
D. competition among species.
GROWTH OF DUCKWEED POPULATIONS
Figure 12
7. The graph in Figure 12 shows the results of experiments with two species of duckweed, L.
polyrrhiza and L. gibba. Which of these best explains why growth is less when the two species are
grown together?
A. They attract more herbivores
B. One grows faster than the other
C. They compete for the same resources
D. One stimulates the growth of the other
8. In his theory of natural selection, Darwin proposed that surviving individuals are those that have
A. developed beneficial acquired characteristics.
B. characteristics valued for artificial selection.
C. produced the greatest number of offspring.
D. existing variations best suited to the environment.
White-Tailed Deer Population
Figure 11
Evolution Study Guide - Student - (Revised June 18, 2008)
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9. Look at Figure 11. Why does the white-tailed deer population drop when the carrying capacity is
exceeded?
A. Resources are too low to support the population.
B. Weather changes reduce the deer population.
C. The height of edible plants exceeds the height of the deer.
D. Competition by other animals is greatly reduced.
AMINO ACID COMPOSITION OF CYTOCHROME c
Figure 20
Amino Acid Composition of Cytochrome c in Some Organisms
(Cytochrome-c is a protein involved in aerobic respiration.)
Amino Acid
Organism 1
Organism 2
Organism 3
Organism 4
Alanine
15%
15%
15%
15%
Arginine
6%
6%
6%
6%
Aspartic acid
10%
10%
10%
10%
Cysteine
10%
10%
10%
6%
Glutamic acid
20%
20%
13%
13%
Glycine
6%
4%
6%
6%
Valine
1%
2%
3%
8%
10. Which two organisms in Figure 20 are the most closely related?
A. Organism I and Organism 2
B. Organism 2 and Organism 4
C. Organism 3 and Organism 4
D. Organism 1 and Organism 3
11. The desert pupfish is a tiny fish that lives in small isolated pools in the deserts of Nevada, Arizona
and California. These regions used to be lush with forests and abundant water. The pupfish that
lived there were very large. As the environment changed into desert, access to water became
severely limited. The pupfish became isolated into small pools. Over time their size became much
smaller, in some cases less than an inch in length. Which of the following best explains the change
in pupfish size?
A. Speciation
B. Convergent evolution
C. Inbreeding
D. Natural selection
12. As the forest of the central US slowly changed into grasslands, the horse had to adapt to these
changes. Surviving horses were larger with longer legs and a single-toe hoof. Darwin would call
the ability of the horse to survive and reproduce in its changing environment
Evolution Study Guide - Student - (Revised June 18, 2008)
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A.
B.
C.
D.
diversity.
competition.
fitness.
extinction.
13. In prehistoric times a single species of the spotted frog inhabited the Pacific coastal regions. As the
upheavals forming the coastal mountain began to occur, the region began to be separated by high
mountains and valley areas. The spotted frogs became isolated into different pockets and no
longer had contact with one another. Eventually each group of frogs became so different from each
other that they could no longer interbreed. Which of the following explains this event?
A. Competition
B. Extinction
C. Predation
D. Speciation
Rabbit Population
Figure 6
14. Read the paragraph in Figure 6. Over the next few years, the rabbit population will probably
A. remain relatively constant due to equal birth and death rates.
B. die out due to inbreeding.
C. increase until the food supply runs low.
D. decrease as the number of rabbits per litter decreases.
15. Which of the following ideas proposed by Lamarck was later found to be incorrect?
A. Acquired characteristics can be inherited.
B. All species were descended from other species.
C. Living things change over time.
D. Organisms are adapted to their environments.
16. An inherited characteristic that increases an organism’s ability to survive and reproduce in its
specific environment is called a(n)
A. vestigial organ.
B. adaptation.
C. speciation.
D. radiation.
Short Answer
17. How is the process of survival of the fittest related to a population’s environment?
18. Distinguish between fitness and adaptation. Give an example of each.
19. Many species of birds build nests in which they lay eggs and raise the newly hatched birds. How
might nest building behavior be an adaptation that helps ensure fitness?
20. DDT is an insecticide that was first used in the 1940’s to kill mosquitoes and stop the spread of
malaria. At first, it was very effective. However, over a period of years, people began to notice that
it was becoming less and less effective. A possible explanation for this was that the insects were
becoming resistant to the DDT. Explain how the resistance may have evolved.
Evolution Study Guide - Student - (Revised June 18, 2008)
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