Page |1
BIOL 2402 - Exam 1 - UMSL Questions and
Correct Answers/ Latest Update / Already
Graded
Stuff you need to have addressed
Ans: Card 2 - Pre-European scholars
card 32
Ch2
card 48
card 53
card 61
What do we need to know about fins?
I just need some help with scales in general
card 146
Of the Pre-European scholars, list the major contributors to biological
research/anatomical research (6)
Ans: •First the Greeks: ~400 BC
•Chinese: ~300 BC - Taoism explicitly denies the fixity of
biological species
•Romans: 0 - 300 AD - The fall of Rome brings the Dark Ages to
Europe
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
, Page |2
•The Islamic Golden Age takes hold - Islamic Scholars made
progress for seven centuries but have been largely left out of
Western texts
•Latin translations in the Renaissance and Enlightenment
reintroduced Greek (and Arabic) learning to Europeans
•Europeans quickly and consistently denied the contributions of
any non-European scholars except classical Greek figures.
Important to note that there was an enlightenment during the
dark ages in other parts of the world.
What were the two types of scholars (for the intellectual roots of
theories about evolution) in Europe?
Ans: The immutists and the Evolutionists
Who are the immutists? Who are two famous immutists?
Ans: •The Immutists believe species are fixed and
unchangeable
•Carolus Linnaeus (father of taxonomy)
•Rev. John Ray and the Naturalists - fantastical creatures are
manifestations of the divine mind
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
, Page |3
Who are the evolutionists? Who are is our most famous evolutionist,
and what do think?
Ans: •Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck's main points:
•Spontaneous generation - living matter comes from non living
matter, which is wrong.
•Evolution from lowest to perfect (read: humans)
•Inheritance of acquired characteristics (passing on laser hair
removal to your kids)
What is the problem with acquired characteristics?
Ans: •The needs of an individual are not encoded in the
genome of germ cells
•Therefore they can't be inherited
What is the problem with the Ladder of Progress?
Ans: 1.) To evolution, there is only now. The idea of a direction
or concept of the future or increasing complexity is wrong.
2.)The idea that primitive/basal organisms are less evolved or
less perfect assumes that selection favors organisms that are
pleasing to humans rather than best adapted to their time and
place.
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
, Page |4
Who are credited with formalizing the theory of Evolution by Natural
Selection?
Ans: Charles Darwin & Alfred R. Wallace
The Modern Synthesis
Ans: The later combination of Mendelian genetics and
Darwinian evolution
What were the two main arguments of the controversy surrounding
theory of evolution by natural selection?
Ans: 1.) Contemporaries thought Earth was not old enough to
have allowed for the diversity of life at the pace Darwin
suggested
1.) Blending inheritance was the prevailing thought of the time,
this predicts a reduction in variation through successive
generations of blending
Georges Cuvier (3)
Ans: •An immutist who believed that organisms should be
understood as similar to machines, composed of various
interlocking functional groups. (head of a dog body of tiger tail
of a lion)
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
BIOL 2402 - Exam 1 - UMSL Questions and
Correct Answers/ Latest Update / Already
Graded
Stuff you need to have addressed
Ans: Card 2 - Pre-European scholars
card 32
Ch2
card 48
card 53
card 61
What do we need to know about fins?
I just need some help with scales in general
card 146
Of the Pre-European scholars, list the major contributors to biological
research/anatomical research (6)
Ans: •First the Greeks: ~400 BC
•Chinese: ~300 BC - Taoism explicitly denies the fixity of
biological species
•Romans: 0 - 300 AD - The fall of Rome brings the Dark Ages to
Europe
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
, Page |2
•The Islamic Golden Age takes hold - Islamic Scholars made
progress for seven centuries but have been largely left out of
Western texts
•Latin translations in the Renaissance and Enlightenment
reintroduced Greek (and Arabic) learning to Europeans
•Europeans quickly and consistently denied the contributions of
any non-European scholars except classical Greek figures.
Important to note that there was an enlightenment during the
dark ages in other parts of the world.
What were the two types of scholars (for the intellectual roots of
theories about evolution) in Europe?
Ans: The immutists and the Evolutionists
Who are the immutists? Who are two famous immutists?
Ans: •The Immutists believe species are fixed and
unchangeable
•Carolus Linnaeus (father of taxonomy)
•Rev. John Ray and the Naturalists - fantastical creatures are
manifestations of the divine mind
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
, Page |3
Who are the evolutionists? Who are is our most famous evolutionist,
and what do think?
Ans: •Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck's main points:
•Spontaneous generation - living matter comes from non living
matter, which is wrong.
•Evolution from lowest to perfect (read: humans)
•Inheritance of acquired characteristics (passing on laser hair
removal to your kids)
What is the problem with acquired characteristics?
Ans: •The needs of an individual are not encoded in the
genome of germ cells
•Therefore they can't be inherited
What is the problem with the Ladder of Progress?
Ans: 1.) To evolution, there is only now. The idea of a direction
or concept of the future or increasing complexity is wrong.
2.)The idea that primitive/basal organisms are less evolved or
less perfect assumes that selection favors organisms that are
pleasing to humans rather than best adapted to their time and
place.
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
, Page |4
Who are credited with formalizing the theory of Evolution by Natural
Selection?
Ans: Charles Darwin & Alfred R. Wallace
The Modern Synthesis
Ans: The later combination of Mendelian genetics and
Darwinian evolution
What were the two main arguments of the controversy surrounding
theory of evolution by natural selection?
Ans: 1.) Contemporaries thought Earth was not old enough to
have allowed for the diversity of life at the pace Darwin
suggested
1.) Blending inheritance was the prevailing thought of the time,
this predicts a reduction in variation through successive
generations of blending
Georges Cuvier (3)
Ans: •An immutist who believed that organisms should be
understood as similar to machines, composed of various
interlocking functional groups. (head of a dog body of tiger tail
of a lion)
All rights reserved © 2025/ 2026 |
