Bio 114 Final Review -Binghamton
Test Questions 2025 All Answered
Correct Graded A+.
Cell Theory - Answer All organisms are made of cells, and all cells come from pre-existing cells.
Conclusion: If you trace a cell's lineage back far enough, you will discover that all cells are
descended from a common ancestral cell
Evolution - Answer The heritable change in a population over time or a change in gene
frequency in a population over a number of
generations
Proximate process - Answer what happens in short term, measured in fractions of lifetimes
Ultimate process - Answer longer timeframe (lifetime or more)
Evolutionary Theory - Answer 2 General Ideas:
Evolution explains variation
All species are related to each other through common ancestry
Biomes - Answer collection of similar ecosystems but not part of hierarchy because it doesn't
have emergent properties
Before the mid-1800s we knew: - Answer a. Organisms have offspring similar to themselves.
b. We could select individual plants and animals on our farms to breed and produce offspring
that we considered beneficial.
c. There exists a large amount of diversity/variation among organisms within a species.
d. Differences among the members of a population mean that not all are affected in the same
way by ecological factors
e. The variation between species may mean that not all areas that can do so will support a
population of a particular species or actually have a population present.
,Emergent Properties - Answer The collection of the units at one level takes on a trait that is
greater than the sum of the parts
Ex: Social groups have the emergent property to have safety in numbers
Evolution is an emergent property of populations
Organisms - Answer Individuals that are typically a collection of organ systems. They are acted
on by natural selection.
Jean Baptiste de Lamarck - Answer first evolutionist to believe that organisms change over
time. The theory of acquired characteristics: individuals change as a result of environmental
pressures and then pass those traits to offspring
ex: you're JACKED and then your child is born JACKED
Fitness - Answer number of viable offspring you produce in your lifetime
Adaptations - Answer A heritable trait that increases the relative fitness of individuals having
that trait
A process by which individuals within a population acquire traits that increase their relative
fitness
Australian Rabbits - Answer Rabbit invasion, tried to control population with myxomatosis
virus that only kills rabbits, it was pretty effective in killing rabbit pop , but only killed 99.9% so
the rabbit population that was resistant survived and passed on resistance to offspring through
placenta
What do rabbit and virus population have in common?
They both have variation (virus- virility, rabbit- variation in susceptibility)
Both are populations
Both have differential reproduction
Homologies - Answer traits in common due to inheritance from a common ancestor
Macroevolution - Answer the change of one major taxonomic group into another (ex: fish to
,Microevolution - Answer the change in a population over generations that helps to separate
populations from each other genetically.
Accumulation of microevolution over time leads to macroevolution
Evolutionary Trends - Answer resulted from macroevolutionary processes
a. An increase in multicellularity
b. An increase in complexity
c. An increase in ways to capture energy for use
d. An increase in ways to deal with the environment - biotic and abiotic
e. An increase in diversity (snowball effect)
Construct a hypothetical scenario that explains the evolution of feathers in birds (feathers are
modified scales) - Answer Scales that vary in shape/waviness may have an advantage
regulating body temp. allowing them to have more energy to get food
Scales over generations end up evolving into feathers allowing those organisms to survive and
reproduce
Ecosystems - Answer Communities plus abiotic factors. They are much larger agents than
communities.
Natural Selection - Answer A process by which evolution can occur
It requires:
Trait variation in a population
Heritability, or traits that are passed from parents to offspring by genes
Differential Survival, or individuals that live long enough to reproduce
Differential Reproduction, or individuals that will breed more offspring than others
The Biosphere - Answer All the ecosystems put together. All that gets in is sunlight, and all that
, All species have a common ancestor
All species show changes in characteristics through time
All species show changes in characteristics in different environments
These three components lead us to our modern theory of natural selection
Populations - Answer Collections of individuals of the same species. Evolutionary change
affects the population.
Communities - Answer Collections of populations of different species living together in the
same area with natural boundaries.
Special Creation - Answer all organisms were created by a divine being
Great Chain of Being - Answer all species are organized into a sequence based on increased
size and complexity, with humans at the top
Artificial Selection - Answer Humans are selecting agents, who choose specific plants and
animals to breed.
Developmental Homology - Answer Similarities in morphology of embryos of different species
Structural Homology - Answer Similarities in structure of body parts of different species
Evidence that Species and Species Diversity Change Over Time - Answer Fossil Record and
Vestigial Traits
Fossil Record - Answer 1.) Not all species were together at one time
2.) Extinction has taken place
3.) Transitional forms exist
4.) Major increases in species complexity takes billions of years
5.) Life began in the sea
Test Questions 2025 All Answered
Correct Graded A+.
Cell Theory - Answer All organisms are made of cells, and all cells come from pre-existing cells.
Conclusion: If you trace a cell's lineage back far enough, you will discover that all cells are
descended from a common ancestral cell
Evolution - Answer The heritable change in a population over time or a change in gene
frequency in a population over a number of
generations
Proximate process - Answer what happens in short term, measured in fractions of lifetimes
Ultimate process - Answer longer timeframe (lifetime or more)
Evolutionary Theory - Answer 2 General Ideas:
Evolution explains variation
All species are related to each other through common ancestry
Biomes - Answer collection of similar ecosystems but not part of hierarchy because it doesn't
have emergent properties
Before the mid-1800s we knew: - Answer a. Organisms have offspring similar to themselves.
b. We could select individual plants and animals on our farms to breed and produce offspring
that we considered beneficial.
c. There exists a large amount of diversity/variation among organisms within a species.
d. Differences among the members of a population mean that not all are affected in the same
way by ecological factors
e. The variation between species may mean that not all areas that can do so will support a
population of a particular species or actually have a population present.
,Emergent Properties - Answer The collection of the units at one level takes on a trait that is
greater than the sum of the parts
Ex: Social groups have the emergent property to have safety in numbers
Evolution is an emergent property of populations
Organisms - Answer Individuals that are typically a collection of organ systems. They are acted
on by natural selection.
Jean Baptiste de Lamarck - Answer first evolutionist to believe that organisms change over
time. The theory of acquired characteristics: individuals change as a result of environmental
pressures and then pass those traits to offspring
ex: you're JACKED and then your child is born JACKED
Fitness - Answer number of viable offspring you produce in your lifetime
Adaptations - Answer A heritable trait that increases the relative fitness of individuals having
that trait
A process by which individuals within a population acquire traits that increase their relative
fitness
Australian Rabbits - Answer Rabbit invasion, tried to control population with myxomatosis
virus that only kills rabbits, it was pretty effective in killing rabbit pop , but only killed 99.9% so
the rabbit population that was resistant survived and passed on resistance to offspring through
placenta
What do rabbit and virus population have in common?
They both have variation (virus- virility, rabbit- variation in susceptibility)
Both are populations
Both have differential reproduction
Homologies - Answer traits in common due to inheritance from a common ancestor
Macroevolution - Answer the change of one major taxonomic group into another (ex: fish to
,Microevolution - Answer the change in a population over generations that helps to separate
populations from each other genetically.
Accumulation of microevolution over time leads to macroevolution
Evolutionary Trends - Answer resulted from macroevolutionary processes
a. An increase in multicellularity
b. An increase in complexity
c. An increase in ways to capture energy for use
d. An increase in ways to deal with the environment - biotic and abiotic
e. An increase in diversity (snowball effect)
Construct a hypothetical scenario that explains the evolution of feathers in birds (feathers are
modified scales) - Answer Scales that vary in shape/waviness may have an advantage
regulating body temp. allowing them to have more energy to get food
Scales over generations end up evolving into feathers allowing those organisms to survive and
reproduce
Ecosystems - Answer Communities plus abiotic factors. They are much larger agents than
communities.
Natural Selection - Answer A process by which evolution can occur
It requires:
Trait variation in a population
Heritability, or traits that are passed from parents to offspring by genes
Differential Survival, or individuals that live long enough to reproduce
Differential Reproduction, or individuals that will breed more offspring than others
The Biosphere - Answer All the ecosystems put together. All that gets in is sunlight, and all that
, All species have a common ancestor
All species show changes in characteristics through time
All species show changes in characteristics in different environments
These three components lead us to our modern theory of natural selection
Populations - Answer Collections of individuals of the same species. Evolutionary change
affects the population.
Communities - Answer Collections of populations of different species living together in the
same area with natural boundaries.
Special Creation - Answer all organisms were created by a divine being
Great Chain of Being - Answer all species are organized into a sequence based on increased
size and complexity, with humans at the top
Artificial Selection - Answer Humans are selecting agents, who choose specific plants and
animals to breed.
Developmental Homology - Answer Similarities in morphology of embryos of different species
Structural Homology - Answer Similarities in structure of body parts of different species
Evidence that Species and Species Diversity Change Over Time - Answer Fossil Record and
Vestigial Traits
Fossil Record - Answer 1.) Not all species were together at one time
2.) Extinction has taken place
3.) Transitional forms exist
4.) Major increases in species complexity takes billions of years
5.) Life began in the sea
