BIO 1500 Exam 3 Study Guide
1. What should nomenclature reflect?: evolutionary history
2. The more closely related the , the closer they will appear on the tree.-
: taxa
3. What does a phylogenetic tree describe?: the sequence of how organisms evolved and how
traits evolved
4. What are nodes on a phylogenetic tree?: branching/splitting points on the tree
5. What are roots on a phylogenetic tree?: the node at the base of the tree; it represents the common
ancestor of all the taxa (oldest point on the tree)
6. What is a clade?: group of organisms that consists of a common ancestor and ALL its lineal descendants
7. What is a monophyletic group?: In such a group all members are descended from the same common
ancestor
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, 8. Are the positions of the branches on a phylogenetic tree important?: yes; they
portray evolutionary relationships among families
9. What is homology?: characters which are similar due to common descent
10. What is analogy?: characters which are similar due to convergence or parallel evolution
11. Are homologies more informative than analogies when thinking about evo-
lutionary history and relationships?: yes; they can provide information on shared ancestry
12. Why are phylogenetic trees important?: display the evolutionary history of organisms; allow us
to answer questions about evolution
13. What is a trait?: a characteristic that is genetically determined; often encoded by one gene or perhaps
several genes
14. What is an allele?: different forms of a gene; the individual units that were described by Mendel (ex. S and
s)
15. What is a genotype?: the specific allele combinations in an individual (ex. SS, Ss, and ss)
2/5
1. What should nomenclature reflect?: evolutionary history
2. The more closely related the , the closer they will appear on the tree.-
: taxa
3. What does a phylogenetic tree describe?: the sequence of how organisms evolved and how
traits evolved
4. What are nodes on a phylogenetic tree?: branching/splitting points on the tree
5. What are roots on a phylogenetic tree?: the node at the base of the tree; it represents the common
ancestor of all the taxa (oldest point on the tree)
6. What is a clade?: group of organisms that consists of a common ancestor and ALL its lineal descendants
7. What is a monophyletic group?: In such a group all members are descended from the same common
ancestor
1/5
, 8. Are the positions of the branches on a phylogenetic tree important?: yes; they
portray evolutionary relationships among families
9. What is homology?: characters which are similar due to common descent
10. What is analogy?: characters which are similar due to convergence or parallel evolution
11. Are homologies more informative than analogies when thinking about evo-
lutionary history and relationships?: yes; they can provide information on shared ancestry
12. Why are phylogenetic trees important?: display the evolutionary history of organisms; allow us
to answer questions about evolution
13. What is a trait?: a characteristic that is genetically determined; often encoded by one gene or perhaps
several genes
14. What is an allele?: different forms of a gene; the individual units that were described by Mendel (ex. S and
s)
15. What is a genotype?: the specific allele combinations in an individual (ex. SS, Ss, and ss)
2/5
