BIO 206 FINAL 2025/2026 EXAM
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | 100%
PASS
What are the characteristics that make an idea scientific? - 🧠 ANSWER
✔✔sexual selection: selection on traits associated with mating
intrasexual selection: competition for access to mates (between members
of one sex)
intersexual selection: exercising choice of potential mates (members of one
sex towards the other)
What does it mean to say an idea refers to the supernatural? Why is it
important that a scientific idea make reference to "natural law"? How does
assessment of the meaning of empirical evidence differ from a belief
system? - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔the supernatural is something that cannot be
tested or proved false, such as ghosts or god
,a scientific idea needs to make reference to natural law b/c natural law has
evidence to back it up or whatever and is legitimate
empirical evidence is measured; it is actually evidence
a belief system is choosing to have faith in something with no particular
reason to do so
If we define "proof" as something being irrevocably true, has always been
true, and will always be true, why is that inconsistent with our definition of
science? - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔science needs to be falsifiable so if it is always
irrevocably true it cannot be falsifiable
If an idea is not falsifiable, why can it not be rejected as not true? - 🧠
ANSWER ✔✔the word falsifiable means being able to made false, aka not
true
if you can't say something is false you can't say it's not true
From the perspective of scientists, what is the difference between a
hypothesis and a theory? - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔a hypothesis is a tentative
explanation for a natural phenomenon made to be tested and a theory is a
well-tested well-substantiated unifying explanation for a large set of verified
observations or measurements
,What is a general definition of evolution? - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔evolution is the
change in alleles of a population over generations
Describe how artificial selection serves as evidence for the principle
underlying evolution by natural selection. - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔artificial
selection is when humans choose a trait (such as extra milk production in
cows) and breed only those individuals with the trait
this results in more offspring having the desired trait
when a trait results in an individual being able to reproduce more, the trait
then shows itself in more offspring
How does the experiment on selection for running speed in mice serve as
indirect evidence for evolution by natural selection (Fig. 2.3, this is
redundant with question 2 above)? What does the effect of Ritalin on the
running speed in mice suggest about the genetic/evolutionary relationship
between humans and mice? - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔when only the fast mice were
bred the mouse babies got faster (trait selected was more popular in
offspring)
ritalin affected mice in the same way it affects humans, suggesting that
there are similar pathways in the human and mouse brain due to relation
COPYRIGHT©PROFFKERRYMARTIN 2025/2026. YEAR PUBLISHED 2025. COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 619652435. TERMS OF USE.
PRIVACY STATEMENT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
, Describe how vestigial structures provide evidence for evolution (i.e.,
common ancestry among taxa). Describe three apparent examples of
vestigial structures. - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔vestigial structures are structures that
serve no purpose but still exist
for example whales have vestigial femurs
they don't nerdfed femurs but the femur remains because whales evolved
from creatures that once had femurs
other vestigial structures include human olfactory receptors and flightless
birds
Define what "transitional forms" are and how they provide evidence for
Darwin's idea that organisms share common ancestry? Give two examples
of transitional forms. - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔transitional forms are species that
share characteristics of two major taxa
this shows how animals come from a common ancestor allowing one taxa
to develop from another (missing links)
one example is tiktaalik and another example is egg laying mammals
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | 100%
PASS
What are the characteristics that make an idea scientific? - 🧠 ANSWER
✔✔sexual selection: selection on traits associated with mating
intrasexual selection: competition for access to mates (between members
of one sex)
intersexual selection: exercising choice of potential mates (members of one
sex towards the other)
What does it mean to say an idea refers to the supernatural? Why is it
important that a scientific idea make reference to "natural law"? How does
assessment of the meaning of empirical evidence differ from a belief
system? - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔the supernatural is something that cannot be
tested or proved false, such as ghosts or god
,a scientific idea needs to make reference to natural law b/c natural law has
evidence to back it up or whatever and is legitimate
empirical evidence is measured; it is actually evidence
a belief system is choosing to have faith in something with no particular
reason to do so
If we define "proof" as something being irrevocably true, has always been
true, and will always be true, why is that inconsistent with our definition of
science? - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔science needs to be falsifiable so if it is always
irrevocably true it cannot be falsifiable
If an idea is not falsifiable, why can it not be rejected as not true? - 🧠
ANSWER ✔✔the word falsifiable means being able to made false, aka not
true
if you can't say something is false you can't say it's not true
From the perspective of scientists, what is the difference between a
hypothesis and a theory? - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔a hypothesis is a tentative
explanation for a natural phenomenon made to be tested and a theory is a
well-tested well-substantiated unifying explanation for a large set of verified
observations or measurements
,What is a general definition of evolution? - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔evolution is the
change in alleles of a population over generations
Describe how artificial selection serves as evidence for the principle
underlying evolution by natural selection. - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔artificial
selection is when humans choose a trait (such as extra milk production in
cows) and breed only those individuals with the trait
this results in more offspring having the desired trait
when a trait results in an individual being able to reproduce more, the trait
then shows itself in more offspring
How does the experiment on selection for running speed in mice serve as
indirect evidence for evolution by natural selection (Fig. 2.3, this is
redundant with question 2 above)? What does the effect of Ritalin on the
running speed in mice suggest about the genetic/evolutionary relationship
between humans and mice? - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔when only the fast mice were
bred the mouse babies got faster (trait selected was more popular in
offspring)
ritalin affected mice in the same way it affects humans, suggesting that
there are similar pathways in the human and mouse brain due to relation
COPYRIGHT©PROFFKERRYMARTIN 2025/2026. YEAR PUBLISHED 2025. COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 619652435. TERMS OF USE.
PRIVACY STATEMENT. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
, Describe how vestigial structures provide evidence for evolution (i.e.,
common ancestry among taxa). Describe three apparent examples of
vestigial structures. - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔vestigial structures are structures that
serve no purpose but still exist
for example whales have vestigial femurs
they don't nerdfed femurs but the femur remains because whales evolved
from creatures that once had femurs
other vestigial structures include human olfactory receptors and flightless
birds
Define what "transitional forms" are and how they provide evidence for
Darwin's idea that organisms share common ancestry? Give two examples
of transitional forms. - 🧠 ANSWER ✔✔transitional forms are species that
share characteristics of two major taxa
this shows how animals come from a common ancestor allowing one taxa
to develop from another (missing links)
one example is tiktaalik and another example is egg laying mammals
