Key Concepts from Chapters 13-15
Chapter 13: How Populations Evolve
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution (13.1-13.7)
13.1 Who wrote The Origin of Species? What is the significance of this book?
13.1 What is explained by the theory of descent with modification?
13.2 Describe the fossil record.
13.3 Describe the current evidence of the history of whale evolution.
13.4 How do homologies provide strong evidence for evolution?
13.5 How are evolutionary trees constructed? How are they used to represent ancestral relationships?
13.6 Describe Charles Darwin’s observations and reasoning in developing the concept of natural
selection. Additionally, how did the process of artificial selection influence Darwin’s
development of the idea of natural selection?
13.6 Explain why individuals cannot evolve and why evolution does not lead to perfectly adapted
organisms.
13.7 What were the two examples mentioned of natural selection occurring in nature? What two
important points about natural selection do those two examples reveal?
The Evolution of Populations (13.8-13.11)
13.8 What is genetic variation? How do mutation and sexual reproduction produce genetic variation?
13.9 Define the gene pool, a population, and microevolution.
13.10 What five conditions are required for a population to be in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?
13.10 What is the Hardy-Weinberg equation? What does each of its variables represent?
13.10 What is the significance of the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium to natural populations?
Mechanisms of Microevolution (13.12-13.18)
13.12 Describe the three main causes of evolutionary change.
13.12 How does the bottleneck effect and the founder effect influence microevolution?
13.12 How do genetic bottlenecks threaten the survival of certain species?
13.13 Explain why natural selection is the only mechanism that consistently leads to adaptive evolution.
13.14 Distinguish between stabilizing selection, directional selection, and disruptive selection. Describe
an example of each.
13.15 Define and compare intrasexual selection and intersexual selection. Describe an example of each.
13.16 How has antibiotic resistance evolved?
13.17 How is genetic variation preserved in a population?
13.18 Why can’t natural selection produce perfect organisms?
Vocabulary
adaptation
artificial selection
balancing selection
bottleneck effect
directional selection
, disruptive selection
evolution
evolutionary tree
fossil
fossil record
founder effect
gene flow
gene pool
genetic drift
Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
heterozygote advantage
homologous structures
homology
microevolution
molecular biology
mutation
natural selection
paleontologists
population
relative fitness
sexual dimorphism
sexual reproduction
sexual selection
stabilizing selection
stratum (plural, strata)
theory
vestigial structure
Chapter 14: The Origin of Species
Defining Species (14.1-14.3)
14.1 Distinguish between microevolution and speciation.
14.2 Compare the definitions, advantages, and disadvantages of the different species concepts.
14.3 What are the five types of prezygotic barriers and the three types of postzygotic barriers that
prevent populations of closely related species from interbreeding?
Mechanisms of Speciation (14.4-14.11)
14.4 What is allopatric speciation? How do geologic processes fragment populations and lead to
speciation?
14.6 What is sympatric speciation? How might sympatric speciation occur?
14.7 How have coloration and properties of light transmission in water led to the speciation of cichlids
in Lake Victoria?
14.8 What is adaptive radiation? Describe an example of adaptive radiation.
14.9 How do hybrid zones affect speciation? Describe reinforcement, fusion, and stability in regard to
hybrid zones.
14.10 Compare the punctuated equilibrium model with the gradual model of evolution.
Chapter 13: How Populations Evolve
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution (13.1-13.7)
13.1 Who wrote The Origin of Species? What is the significance of this book?
13.1 What is explained by the theory of descent with modification?
13.2 Describe the fossil record.
13.3 Describe the current evidence of the history of whale evolution.
13.4 How do homologies provide strong evidence for evolution?
13.5 How are evolutionary trees constructed? How are they used to represent ancestral relationships?
13.6 Describe Charles Darwin’s observations and reasoning in developing the concept of natural
selection. Additionally, how did the process of artificial selection influence Darwin’s
development of the idea of natural selection?
13.6 Explain why individuals cannot evolve and why evolution does not lead to perfectly adapted
organisms.
13.7 What were the two examples mentioned of natural selection occurring in nature? What two
important points about natural selection do those two examples reveal?
The Evolution of Populations (13.8-13.11)
13.8 What is genetic variation? How do mutation and sexual reproduction produce genetic variation?
13.9 Define the gene pool, a population, and microevolution.
13.10 What five conditions are required for a population to be in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?
13.10 What is the Hardy-Weinberg equation? What does each of its variables represent?
13.10 What is the significance of the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium to natural populations?
Mechanisms of Microevolution (13.12-13.18)
13.12 Describe the three main causes of evolutionary change.
13.12 How does the bottleneck effect and the founder effect influence microevolution?
13.12 How do genetic bottlenecks threaten the survival of certain species?
13.13 Explain why natural selection is the only mechanism that consistently leads to adaptive evolution.
13.14 Distinguish between stabilizing selection, directional selection, and disruptive selection. Describe
an example of each.
13.15 Define and compare intrasexual selection and intersexual selection. Describe an example of each.
13.16 How has antibiotic resistance evolved?
13.17 How is genetic variation preserved in a population?
13.18 Why can’t natural selection produce perfect organisms?
Vocabulary
adaptation
artificial selection
balancing selection
bottleneck effect
directional selection
, disruptive selection
evolution
evolutionary tree
fossil
fossil record
founder effect
gene flow
gene pool
genetic drift
Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
heterozygote advantage
homologous structures
homology
microevolution
molecular biology
mutation
natural selection
paleontologists
population
relative fitness
sexual dimorphism
sexual reproduction
sexual selection
stabilizing selection
stratum (plural, strata)
theory
vestigial structure
Chapter 14: The Origin of Species
Defining Species (14.1-14.3)
14.1 Distinguish between microevolution and speciation.
14.2 Compare the definitions, advantages, and disadvantages of the different species concepts.
14.3 What are the five types of prezygotic barriers and the three types of postzygotic barriers that
prevent populations of closely related species from interbreeding?
Mechanisms of Speciation (14.4-14.11)
14.4 What is allopatric speciation? How do geologic processes fragment populations and lead to
speciation?
14.6 What is sympatric speciation? How might sympatric speciation occur?
14.7 How have coloration and properties of light transmission in water led to the speciation of cichlids
in Lake Victoria?
14.8 What is adaptive radiation? Describe an example of adaptive radiation.
14.9 How do hybrid zones affect speciation? Describe reinforcement, fusion, and stability in regard to
hybrid zones.
14.10 Compare the punctuated equilibrium model with the gradual model of evolution.
