BIOLOGY 2 FINAL EXAM PRACTICE QUESTIONS
What is the relationship between microevolution, speciation, and macroevolution? -
Answers- Simply put, a bunch of microevolution in a population can eventually lead to
speciation, and a bunch of speciation in a bunch of different populations leads to
macroevolution (evolution of organisms over geographic stretches of time)
What is the primary difference between allopatric speciation and sympatric speciation? -
Answers- Allopatric speciation is the evolutionary separation of a population into two
species due to reproductive isolation caused by geographic isolation. Sympatric
speciation on the other hand is speciation that occurs within a population in spite of a
lack of geographic isolation from one another. An example of this is in plants when a
reproductive event gives rise to a new species of plant that has three or four sets of
chromosomes instead of the regular two sets, a phenomenon referred to as polyploidy.
What are the five mechanism of microevolution? - Answers- Natural selection, genetic
drift, mutation, gene flow, sexual selection (non-random mating).
What does it mean to be in Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium? - Answers- The population in
question is not evolving.
What is endosymbiosis and what is its significance in the evolutionary history of life on
earth? - Answers- 1. Primary Endosymbiosis is the engulfing and retaining of a
bacterium by an early heterotrophic eukaryote, resulting in the evolution of eukaryotes
with mitochondria (the mitochondria of all our cells are descendants of the early alpha-
proteo bacteria that were originally engulfed), as well as the engulfing and retaining of a
second bacterium, this time a cyanobacterium leading to the evolution of eukaryotes
with both mitochondria and chloroplasts allowing them to therefore gain energy by
photosynthesis and by cellular respiration. Secondary Endosymbiosis is when this
eukaryote, as the product of primary endosymbiosis, is itself engulfed by another free
living eukaryote. This is incredibly important to the evolutionary history of life on earth
because it supported the immense diversification of protists, which are the ancestors as
well to all the major multicellular groups of organisms on the planet.
What are the three main domains of life? - Answers- Bacteria, Archaea, Eukarya
What is a phylogenetic tree? - Answers- A diagram displaying the evolutionary
relationships between selected taxa, which can be phyla, clades, species, individual
organisms, etc.
What is monophyly? - Answers- A grouping within which the groups that are all
descended from a common ancestor
What is paraphyly? - Answers- A grouping within which the groups are all descended
from a common ancestor but one or more groups are being excluded
, What is polyphyly? - Answers- A grouping within which the common ancestor of the
groups is not included in the grouping
What is polytomy? - Answers- An unresolved branching in a phylogenetic tree
What is a synapomorphy? - Answers- A character shared by two groups of organisms
and their most immediate common ancestor
What is a plesiomorphy? - Answers- A character shared by two groups of organisms
but not their most immediate common ancestor (it is a trait they inherited from an earlier
common ancestor than their most recent)
What are the four protist supergroups? - Answers- SAR Clade, Excavata, Unikonta,
and Archaeplastida
What is the sister taxa to the land plants? - Answers- Charophyceans (green algae)
What are the four groups of land plants? - Answers- Bryophytes (mosses), Seedless
vascular (ferns), Gymnosperms (Pine trees, Oak trees), and Angiosperms (all plants
that have flowers)
Describe the alternation of generations? - Answers- A plant has two life stages, one as
a haploid gametophyte, and one as a diploid sporophyte. Though this continues and
gets more complicated with the inclusion of naked seeds on cones for gymnosperms,
and seeds formed in flowers for angiosperms this process is still relevant. In short it is
as follows: A spore germinates in the soil. The spore is haploid (n), and grows into a
mature full-grown plant called a gametophyte. The gametophyte has one or both sexual
organs, the archegonium (female part), and the antheridium (male part). Inside of these,
female and male gametes, respectively, develop. The gametes combine turning into a
zygote that is diploid (2n). The zygote grows into a mature plant called a sporophyte.
When it is ready to reproduce the sporophyte forms a sexual structure called a
sporangium. In the sporangium a diploid sporocyte (2n) meiotically divides into many
haploid (n) spores. Those spores are released into the environment, and hopefully one
will land in the soil and germinate.
tl;dr: spore (n) gametophyte (n) gametes (n) zygote (2n) sporophyte (2n) sporocyte (2n)
spore (n)
fun fact! The pollen- produced by the stamen- is the antheridium, and the embryo sac-
that forms from the megasporangium- is the archegonium! So trees and flowers have a
gametophyte stage too it's just severely reduced.
What is the sister taxa to the fungi? - Answers- Nuclearids
What is the sister taxa to the animals? - Answers- Choanaflagellates
What is the relationship between microevolution, speciation, and macroevolution? -
Answers- Simply put, a bunch of microevolution in a population can eventually lead to
speciation, and a bunch of speciation in a bunch of different populations leads to
macroevolution (evolution of organisms over geographic stretches of time)
What is the primary difference between allopatric speciation and sympatric speciation? -
Answers- Allopatric speciation is the evolutionary separation of a population into two
species due to reproductive isolation caused by geographic isolation. Sympatric
speciation on the other hand is speciation that occurs within a population in spite of a
lack of geographic isolation from one another. An example of this is in plants when a
reproductive event gives rise to a new species of plant that has three or four sets of
chromosomes instead of the regular two sets, a phenomenon referred to as polyploidy.
What are the five mechanism of microevolution? - Answers- Natural selection, genetic
drift, mutation, gene flow, sexual selection (non-random mating).
What does it mean to be in Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium? - Answers- The population in
question is not evolving.
What is endosymbiosis and what is its significance in the evolutionary history of life on
earth? - Answers- 1. Primary Endosymbiosis is the engulfing and retaining of a
bacterium by an early heterotrophic eukaryote, resulting in the evolution of eukaryotes
with mitochondria (the mitochondria of all our cells are descendants of the early alpha-
proteo bacteria that were originally engulfed), as well as the engulfing and retaining of a
second bacterium, this time a cyanobacterium leading to the evolution of eukaryotes
with both mitochondria and chloroplasts allowing them to therefore gain energy by
photosynthesis and by cellular respiration. Secondary Endosymbiosis is when this
eukaryote, as the product of primary endosymbiosis, is itself engulfed by another free
living eukaryote. This is incredibly important to the evolutionary history of life on earth
because it supported the immense diversification of protists, which are the ancestors as
well to all the major multicellular groups of organisms on the planet.
What are the three main domains of life? - Answers- Bacteria, Archaea, Eukarya
What is a phylogenetic tree? - Answers- A diagram displaying the evolutionary
relationships between selected taxa, which can be phyla, clades, species, individual
organisms, etc.
What is monophyly? - Answers- A grouping within which the groups that are all
descended from a common ancestor
What is paraphyly? - Answers- A grouping within which the groups are all descended
from a common ancestor but one or more groups are being excluded
, What is polyphyly? - Answers- A grouping within which the common ancestor of the
groups is not included in the grouping
What is polytomy? - Answers- An unresolved branching in a phylogenetic tree
What is a synapomorphy? - Answers- A character shared by two groups of organisms
and their most immediate common ancestor
What is a plesiomorphy? - Answers- A character shared by two groups of organisms
but not their most immediate common ancestor (it is a trait they inherited from an earlier
common ancestor than their most recent)
What are the four protist supergroups? - Answers- SAR Clade, Excavata, Unikonta,
and Archaeplastida
What is the sister taxa to the land plants? - Answers- Charophyceans (green algae)
What are the four groups of land plants? - Answers- Bryophytes (mosses), Seedless
vascular (ferns), Gymnosperms (Pine trees, Oak trees), and Angiosperms (all plants
that have flowers)
Describe the alternation of generations? - Answers- A plant has two life stages, one as
a haploid gametophyte, and one as a diploid sporophyte. Though this continues and
gets more complicated with the inclusion of naked seeds on cones for gymnosperms,
and seeds formed in flowers for angiosperms this process is still relevant. In short it is
as follows: A spore germinates in the soil. The spore is haploid (n), and grows into a
mature full-grown plant called a gametophyte. The gametophyte has one or both sexual
organs, the archegonium (female part), and the antheridium (male part). Inside of these,
female and male gametes, respectively, develop. The gametes combine turning into a
zygote that is diploid (2n). The zygote grows into a mature plant called a sporophyte.
When it is ready to reproduce the sporophyte forms a sexual structure called a
sporangium. In the sporangium a diploid sporocyte (2n) meiotically divides into many
haploid (n) spores. Those spores are released into the environment, and hopefully one
will land in the soil and germinate.
tl;dr: spore (n) gametophyte (n) gametes (n) zygote (2n) sporophyte (2n) sporocyte (2n)
spore (n)
fun fact! The pollen- produced by the stamen- is the antheridium, and the embryo sac-
that forms from the megasporangium- is the archegonium! So trees and flowers have a
gametophyte stage too it's just severely reduced.
What is the sister taxa to the fungi? - Answers- Nuclearids
What is the sister taxa to the animals? - Answers- Choanaflagellates
