STUDY GUIDE FOR EVOLUTION AND NATURAL SELECTION
Honors Biology
CONTENT GUIDE
(This includes the major concepts for which students will be responsible in
this unit. Additional content as studied in the unit under these major
concepts may be included. Examples would include information from labs,
activities, diagrams, tables and charts. The student must also be able to
use the basic content to make applications, analyze, synthesize and
evaluate information.)
I.
Darwin
 The Voyage: collected evidence on his voyage that led to his
theory about the way life changes.
 The Theory: proposed a mechanism for evolution called natural
selection.
II.
Historical Influences on Darwin
 Hutton and Lyell
 Lamarck
 Malthus
III.
Natural Selection
 Natural selection is the process by which individuals that are better
suited to their environment survive and reproduce more successfully.
 Over time natural selection results in:
o Changes in the inherited characteristics of a population
o A population that is better adapted to its environment
 Darwin’s Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection
o Variation
o Number of offspring produced
o Competition
o Survival of the fittest
 Fitness
 Adaptation
o Descent with modification
IV.
Evidence of Evolution
 Biochemical
o Genetic code similarity – Universal genetic code
o Amino acid sequence – number of differences is
sequences
 Fossils
o Fossil Record
 Comparative Anatomy
o Homologous structures


V.
o Vestigial Organs
Biogeography
o Geographic distribution of living species
Observable Events
o Galapagos Finches (Darwin’s Finches)
o Peppered Moths
Evolution of Populations
 Evolution is genetic change in a population through time.
 Competition and population dynamics
o Gene pool
o Gene frequency
o Hardy Weinberg Theory
 Sources of Genetic Variation
o Mutation
o Gene shuffling (meiosis)
 Biodiversity
 Speciation
o Species: group of organisms that can breed and produce
fertile offspring
o Extinction
o Speciation
 Reproductive Isolation
 Geographic Isolation: Darwin’s Finches
BIOLOGY OBJECTIVE AND TEKS
Objective 10: EVIDENCE OF CHANGE
Identify evidence of change in species using fossils, DNA sequences,
anatomical similarities, physiological similarities, and embryology.
Subobjective:
a) Identify evidence of change in species using fossils, DNA/amino acid sequences,
anatomical & physiological similarities, embryology, and homologous and vestigial
structures.
b) Using paleontological data represent the effects of natural selection on adaptation,
diversity and extinction of the genus Equus.
TEKS:
(7A) identify evidence of change in species using fossils, DNA sequences, anatomical
similarities, physiological similarities, and embryology.
Objective 11: NATURAL SELECTION
Evaluate the role of natural selection on survival of the species.
Subobjective:
c)
d)
e)
f)
Demonstrate how natural selection can lead to diversity, speciation, or extinction.
Interpret a phylogenetic tree.
Compare and contrast divergent and convergent evolution as they relate to speciation.
Demonstrate behavioral and physiological adaptations of animals in response to the
environment. (i.e. co-evolution, mating behavior & Darwin’s finches)
g) Competition for limited resources alters the dynamics of a population
h) Identify and illustrate that long-term survival of species is dependent on a resource base
that may be limited.
i) Evaluate how the loss of biodiversity due to extinction impacts our ecosystem.
j) Illustrate and interpret graphic representations of population dynamics.
TEKS:
(7B)
(6D)
(12C)
(12D)
illustrate the results of natural selection in speciation, diversity, phylogeny, adaptation,
behavior, and extinction.
compare genetic variations observed in plants and animals.
compare variations, tolerances, and adaptations of plants and animals in different
biomes.
identify and illustrate that long-term survival of species is dependent on a resource base
that may be limited.
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. Are different in color
II. Excrete different products
III. Live in different, isolated habitats
IV. Can interbreed and produce fertile offspring
Which observation best supports the inference that these frogs belong to
the same species?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Observation I
Observation II
Observation III
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.
B.
C.
D.
high mutation rates on one side.
low genetic diversity in the initial population.
the isolation of the two groups.
differences in reproductive rates.
NUMBERS OF REPRESENTATIVE SPECIES
Figure 5
4. According to this information, which group demonstrated the greatest
biodiversity during the Cretaceous period?
A.
B.
C.
D.
dinosaurs
crocodilians
snakes
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.
B.
C.
D.
vestigial structures.
homologous structures.
natural structures.
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.
B.
C.
D.
organism needs for survival.
the struggle for existence.
a common ancestor.
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.
B.
C.
D.
They attract more herbivores
One grows faster than the other
They compete for the same resources
One stimulates the growth of the other
8. In his theory of natural selection, Darwin proposed that surviving
individuals are those that have
A.
B.
C.
D.
developed beneficial acquired characteristics.
characteristics valued for artificial selection.
produced the greatest number of offspring.
existing variations best suited to the environment.
White-Tailed Deer Population
Figure 11
9. Look at Figure 11. Why does the white-tailed deer population drop when
the carrying capacity is exceeded?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Resources are too low to support the population.
Weather changes reduce the deer population.
The height of edible plants exceeds the height of the deer.
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%
14%
Glycine
6%
4%
6%
6%
Valine
1%
2%
3%
10%
10. Which two organisms in Figure 20 are the most closely related?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Organism I and Organism 2
Organism 2 and Organism 4
Organism 3 and Organism 4
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.
B.
C.
D.
Speciation
Convergent evolution
Inbreeding
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
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.
B.
C.
D.
Competition
Extinction
Predation
Speciation
Rabbit Population
Figure 6
14. Read the paragraph in Figure 6. Over the next few years, the rabbit
population will probably
A.
B.
C.
D.
remain relatively constant due to equal birth and death rates.
die out due to inbreeding.
increase until the food supply runs low.
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.
B.
C.
D.
Acquired characteristics can be inherited.
All species were descended from other species.
Living things change over time.
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.
B.
C.
D.
vestigial organ.
adaptation.
speciation.
radiation.
Short Answer
17. How is the process of survival of the fittest related to a population’s
environment?
In survival of the fittest, individuals that are best suited to their
environment survive and reproduce most successfully.
18. Distinguish between fitness and adaptation. Give an example of each.
Fitness, the ability of an individual to survive and reproduce in it
specific environment, occurs through ongoing adaptation. An example is
an animal that survives through camouflage. An adaptation is any
inherited characteristic that increases an organism’s chance of survival.
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?
It might protect the eggs and young birds from predators and
accidents, helping to ensure that they survive to adulthood and
reproduce.
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.
The few mosquitoes that were resistant to DDT survived and
reproduced, whereas those that were not resistant were killed by the
insecticide. The succeeding populations of mosquitoes were more
resistant to DDT.