BSC 108 ACTUAL FINALS ANSWERS AND QUESTIONS
SET A+
✔✔Two different species can evolve independently but: - ✔✔acquire the same traits as
adaptations to similar environments
✔✔What are homologies (homologous structures)? - ✔✔similarities among living
organisms that are due to shared ancestry
✔✔What are analogies (analogous structures)? - ✔✔similarities among living organisms
that are due to similar environmental pressures and natural selection (convergent
evolution)
✔✔What is speciation? - ✔✔evolutionary process in which one species splits into two or
more species
✔✔What is a species? - ✔✔group of populations whose members possess similar
anatomical characteristics and the ability to interbreed
✔✔What is a genetic drift? - ✔✔change in gene pool of a population due to CHANCE
✔✔How can new species form without geographic isolation of two populations? -
✔✔two distinct gene pools emerge through chromosomal changes due to errors in
mitosis and meiosis, habitat differentiation, or sexual selection
✔✔What is adaptive radiation? - ✔✔the evolution of diversely adapted species from a
common ancestor upon introduction to a new environment
✔✔As descendants of a common ancestor spread out into various habitats: - ✔✔they
acquired adaptations to their particular environments through natural selection
✔✔What type of adaptations could have come from adaptive radiation? -
✔✔modifications of the ancestral anatomical structures to suit their new functions
(swimming, flying, walking)
, ✔✔What is a community? - ✔✔a group of populations of different species interacting
with another in a single environment
✔✔What is an ecosystem? - ✔✔a community interacting with the physical environment
✔✔What is the primary ecological succession? - ✔✔community arises in a lifeless area
with no soil
✔✔What is the secondary ecological succession? - ✔✔community arises in a lifeless
area with soil
✔✔What is predation? - ✔✔predator kills and eats prey (humans hunting deer to eat,
cat kills and eats mouse)
✔✔What is competition? - ✔✔fight for similar required and limited resources (humans
fight for resources, predators fight for prey)
✔✔What is parasitism? - ✔✔parasite benefits, host is harmed (tick, tapeworm, lice,
leech)
✔✔What is commensalism? - ✔✔one benefits, other neither benefits nor is harmed
(tree frogs use plants as protection, jackals follow tigers and eat their scraps)
✔✔What is mutualism? - ✔✔each benefit from relationship (woodpeckers eat ticks from
rhinos' backs, bees pollinate flowers)
✔✔What is symbiosis? - ✔✔a close relationship between two species
✔✔What are the three types of symbiotic relationships? - ✔✔parasitism,
commensalism, mutualism
✔✔What is included in a species' ecological niche? - ✔✔its habitat, role in the
community, and interactions with other species
✔✔What can resource partitioning lead to? - ✔✔an increase in the chances of survival
for species who share a habitat by reducing competition for resources
✔✔What is the biosphere? - ✔✔it encompasses all of the ecosystems on Earth
✔✔What is the source of energy for the entire biosphere? - ✔✔the sun
✔✔What is an autotroph? - ✔✔they can make their own food and sustain themselves
(plants)
SET A+
✔✔Two different species can evolve independently but: - ✔✔acquire the same traits as
adaptations to similar environments
✔✔What are homologies (homologous structures)? - ✔✔similarities among living
organisms that are due to shared ancestry
✔✔What are analogies (analogous structures)? - ✔✔similarities among living organisms
that are due to similar environmental pressures and natural selection (convergent
evolution)
✔✔What is speciation? - ✔✔evolutionary process in which one species splits into two or
more species
✔✔What is a species? - ✔✔group of populations whose members possess similar
anatomical characteristics and the ability to interbreed
✔✔What is a genetic drift? - ✔✔change in gene pool of a population due to CHANCE
✔✔How can new species form without geographic isolation of two populations? -
✔✔two distinct gene pools emerge through chromosomal changes due to errors in
mitosis and meiosis, habitat differentiation, or sexual selection
✔✔What is adaptive radiation? - ✔✔the evolution of diversely adapted species from a
common ancestor upon introduction to a new environment
✔✔As descendants of a common ancestor spread out into various habitats: - ✔✔they
acquired adaptations to their particular environments through natural selection
✔✔What type of adaptations could have come from adaptive radiation? -
✔✔modifications of the ancestral anatomical structures to suit their new functions
(swimming, flying, walking)
, ✔✔What is a community? - ✔✔a group of populations of different species interacting
with another in a single environment
✔✔What is an ecosystem? - ✔✔a community interacting with the physical environment
✔✔What is the primary ecological succession? - ✔✔community arises in a lifeless area
with no soil
✔✔What is the secondary ecological succession? - ✔✔community arises in a lifeless
area with soil
✔✔What is predation? - ✔✔predator kills and eats prey (humans hunting deer to eat,
cat kills and eats mouse)
✔✔What is competition? - ✔✔fight for similar required and limited resources (humans
fight for resources, predators fight for prey)
✔✔What is parasitism? - ✔✔parasite benefits, host is harmed (tick, tapeworm, lice,
leech)
✔✔What is commensalism? - ✔✔one benefits, other neither benefits nor is harmed
(tree frogs use plants as protection, jackals follow tigers and eat their scraps)
✔✔What is mutualism? - ✔✔each benefit from relationship (woodpeckers eat ticks from
rhinos' backs, bees pollinate flowers)
✔✔What is symbiosis? - ✔✔a close relationship between two species
✔✔What are the three types of symbiotic relationships? - ✔✔parasitism,
commensalism, mutualism
✔✔What is included in a species' ecological niche? - ✔✔its habitat, role in the
community, and interactions with other species
✔✔What can resource partitioning lead to? - ✔✔an increase in the chances of survival
for species who share a habitat by reducing competition for resources
✔✔What is the biosphere? - ✔✔it encompasses all of the ecosystems on Earth
✔✔What is the source of energy for the entire biosphere? - ✔✔the sun
✔✔What is an autotroph? - ✔✔they can make their own food and sustain themselves
(plants)
