Bio 1 Evolution Study Guide
Test questions will be based on the following main ideas:
 Know the three people and their theories that Darwin used in his evidence (Cuvier, Hutton,
and Lyell).
 Know the background behind Darwin’s theory and the voyage and why his ideas were so
controversial in his time.
 Identify and describe the 4 types of evidence used to describe how evolution has occurred
(anatomical, comparative embryology, biogeography, and biochemical).
 Explain what each type of evidence for evolution can tell us about organisms, and give an
example to support each. Several examples:
 By looking at the fossil remains, or those found nearby, what do scientists know
about the organism? Think relative dating versus absolute dating.
 What do homologous, analogous, and vestigial organs tell us about the organisms
they come from?
 What can we tell about organisms by comparing their embryos?
 What can we learn by comparing life forms from various geographical regions?
 What is learned by comparing biochemical data from various organisms (proteins,
DNA, etc.)?
 Be able to construct a cladogram from DNA data provided from BLAST.
 Be able to contrast Darwin’s explanations for organism change to that of Lamarck.
 Be able to explain the difference between an adaptation and variations in a population.
Where do variations come from? What are some different types of adaptations and examples
of each? (Variations lead to adaptations)
 Be able to identify and describe 3 ways that natural selection can act on a population –
stabilizing, directional, and disruptive selection – be able to give an example of each.
 Be able to explain the Hardy-Weinberg Law, apply the math if given some information about
a population, and identify and describe situations in which the law MUST apply. Also be
able to predict how the allelic frequency should change as some situations change (ex:
genetic drift).
 Explain the 5 agents of evolution and how the combination of these agents leads to evolution.
 Be able to identify the difference between coevolution, convergent evolution, and divergent
evolution with examples of each.
 Be able to explain the several reasons how two members of different species could be
reproductively isolated from one another.
 Be able to compare allopatric speciation and sympatric speciation and give an example of
each.