Chapter 4 Study Guide
This guide is for study purposes only – it will not be collected or graded. When
preparing for the test, utilize the webpage, your notes, labs, readings, worksheets,
and the text book.
1. Explain the role natural selection plays in evolution.
2. Explain the role adaptations play in natural selection and/or evolution.
3. Describe and give examples of selective breeding or artificial selection.
4. Give a definition for the following terms:
species:
population:
endemic:
speciation:
5. Explain the steps and causes of allopatric speciation:
6. Discuss what a phylogenetic tree is and how the fossil record plays a role in
phylogenetic trees.
7. Describe the following types of ecology:
ecology:
population ecology:
community ecology:
8. Define the following:
habitat:
niche:
specialists:
generalists:
9. Describe the levels of ecological organization. Use the terms organism, community,
ecosystem, biosphere, population.
10. Describe the following types of population distribution and give an example of
each.
Random distribution:
Uniform distribution:
Clumped distribution:
11. List the four factors that determine a population growth or decline:
12. List the formula for finding growth rate and the formula for listing it as a percent.
13. Compare and contrast exponential growth with logistical growth.
14. Describe and list examples of density-dependent and density-independent limiting
factors.
15. Define and explain carrying capacity and what factors might affect the carrying
capacity of a species.
16. Compare and contract r-selected species to K-selected species. Describe the biotic
potential and other traits of each.
17. Sketch 4 graphs that show: logistic growth, exponential growth, population
oscillation, and a population crash