©EMILLECT 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
Evolution Exam 1 Study Guide Solutions
Biological evolution - ANSWER✔✔-Any change in the inherited traits of a population that occurs from
one generation to the next (i.e., over a time period longer than the lifetime of an individual in the
population)
Change has to be passed down
Encoded in genes
Natural Selection - ANSWER✔✔-Mechanism that can lead to evolution, whereby differential survival and
reproduction of individuals cause some genetic types to out-compete others
NOT survival of the fittest ( only true if fittest means producing more offspring)
Started by random mutation which is helpful in the habitat
Passing these genes on is the MOST important thing
Descent with modification - ANSWER✔✔-1. Earth and life are OLD
2. New life-forms derive from older forms = macroevolution
3. All life-forms are related = Shared Ancestry
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4. Lineages split and diverge = speciation
5. Species change over time = microevolution
Marie Curie - ANSWER✔✔-Discovered radioactive isotope decay
Instrumental in development of radiometric dating (carbon dating)
Synapomorphies - ANSWER✔✔-A derived form of a trait that is shared by a group of related species (i.e.
one that evolved in the immediate common ancestor of the group and was inherited by all of its
descendants)
Convergent evolution - ANSWER✔✔-the independent origin of similar traits in separate evolutionary
lineages
Similar environments lead to similar adaptations in unrelated species
E.x. Both birds and bats evolved to fly but aren't closely related
Shared Ancestry - ANSWER✔✔-When two species share a common ancestor
All life can be traced back to one ancestor
The more two species share an ancestry, the closer related they are
Artificial selection - ANSWER✔✔-Evidence of microevolution (species change over time)
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FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
When humans select for certain traits in a population, breeding animals so that those traits become
more common or exaggerated
Zoonosis - ANSWER✔✔-The process of infectious disease transmission between species
When a disease jumps from an animal to a human
Viral reassortment - ANSWER✔✔-Occurs when genetic material from different strains gets mixed into
new combinations within a single individual
Several strains of a virus come together, become more potent, can then attack humans
Charles Darwin - ANSWER✔✔-English naturalist
Trained at medical school
Traveled on the HMS beagle in 1931
Collected many fossils, living organisms
Studied geology
Developed the theory of evolution (descent with modification)
Published "On the Origin of Species"
Influenced by many who came before him
Page 3/17
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
Evolution Exam 1 Study Guide Solutions
Biological evolution - ANSWER✔✔-Any change in the inherited traits of a population that occurs from
one generation to the next (i.e., over a time period longer than the lifetime of an individual in the
population)
Change has to be passed down
Encoded in genes
Natural Selection - ANSWER✔✔-Mechanism that can lead to evolution, whereby differential survival and
reproduction of individuals cause some genetic types to out-compete others
NOT survival of the fittest ( only true if fittest means producing more offspring)
Started by random mutation which is helpful in the habitat
Passing these genes on is the MOST important thing
Descent with modification - ANSWER✔✔-1. Earth and life are OLD
2. New life-forms derive from older forms = macroevolution
3. All life-forms are related = Shared Ancestry
Page 1/17
, ©EMILLECT 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
4. Lineages split and diverge = speciation
5. Species change over time = microevolution
Marie Curie - ANSWER✔✔-Discovered radioactive isotope decay
Instrumental in development of radiometric dating (carbon dating)
Synapomorphies - ANSWER✔✔-A derived form of a trait that is shared by a group of related species (i.e.
one that evolved in the immediate common ancestor of the group and was inherited by all of its
descendants)
Convergent evolution - ANSWER✔✔-the independent origin of similar traits in separate evolutionary
lineages
Similar environments lead to similar adaptations in unrelated species
E.x. Both birds and bats evolved to fly but aren't closely related
Shared Ancestry - ANSWER✔✔-When two species share a common ancestor
All life can be traced back to one ancestor
The more two species share an ancestry, the closer related they are
Artificial selection - ANSWER✔✔-Evidence of microevolution (species change over time)
Page 2/17
, ©EMILLECT 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
When humans select for certain traits in a population, breeding animals so that those traits become
more common or exaggerated
Zoonosis - ANSWER✔✔-The process of infectious disease transmission between species
When a disease jumps from an animal to a human
Viral reassortment - ANSWER✔✔-Occurs when genetic material from different strains gets mixed into
new combinations within a single individual
Several strains of a virus come together, become more potent, can then attack humans
Charles Darwin - ANSWER✔✔-English naturalist
Trained at medical school
Traveled on the HMS beagle in 1931
Collected many fossils, living organisms
Studied geology
Developed the theory of evolution (descent with modification)
Published "On the Origin of Species"
Influenced by many who came before him
Page 3/17
