BSC 2010 Evolution Questions with
Correct Answers
Evolution - ANSWERSA change in the genetic composition of biological populations
over time
Fossil Record - ANSWERSShows the evolution of natural populations over time
Laboratory Experiments - ANSWERSEvolution in a laboratory setting using organisms
with fast generation times
Natural Populations - ANSWERSEvolution within an individual's lifetime
Evolutionary theory - ANSWERSthe entire set of ideas about how evolution takes place
Unifying principle of biology - ANSWERS"Nothing in biology makes sense except in the
light of evolution"
Well-supported; Parsimonious; Falsifiable - ANSWERSWhy is Evolution not "just a
theory"?
Erasmus Darwin - ANSWERSCharles' own grandfather; Proposed that species change
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck - ANSWERSFrench Naturalist who attempted to explain the
mechanisms of evolution; He found that the unimportant traits atrophy; Concluded that
organisms inherit traits that their parents acquired
Lamarckism - ANSWERSPopulations pass on acquired traits to their offspring
Charles Darwin - ANSWERSFather of modern day evolution; sailed on the H.M.S.
Beagle for 5 years to further his studies; studied finches in the Galapagos Islands
Charles Lyell - ANSWERSHis book, "Principles of Geology" Influenced Darwin
Geologic Uniformitarianism - ANSWERSTHe idea that natural processes at work today
have been at work throughout the Earth's history
Thomas Malthus - ANSWERSHis book "An Essay on the Principle of Population"
influenced Darwin; Proposed that populations may grow quickly at first, but their growth
will decrease due to limited resources
Artificial Selection - ANSWERSHuman interference as to what traits are ideal, they
determine an organism's "fitness"
, Natural Selection - ANSWERSThe differential reproductive success of certain
individuals with more-or-less desirable traits; One mechanism by which evolution
occurs; acts on heritable variation
Variation in a trait; Variation must be heritable; Trait must impact an individual's
reproductive success - ANSWERSThree things required for natural selection to occur
Variation - ANSWERSCommonly results from genetic mutations
Heritable - ANSWERSA trait is this when it can be passed on to one's offspring
Differential reproductive success - ANSWERSIndividuals with more desirable traits will
be more likely to pass those traits on to future generations
Populations, not individuals - ANSWERSWhere does evolution occur?
On the Origin of Species - ANSWERSCharles Darwin's book, published in 1859
Gregor Mendel - ANSWERSDeveloped a theory of heredity in the 1860s
Individual differences can either increase or decrease the chance that the individual will
survive and reproduce - ANSWERSDarwin Conclusion from natural environments and
that an individual resembles its parents
Gene Pool - ANSWERSSum of all of the alleles for a particular locus found in the
population
Adaptation - ANSWERSBeneficial mutation that is favored by natural selection
Mutations - ANSWERSchange in nucleotide sequences, is the origin of all genetic
variation
Deleterious(harmful); Beneficial; Neutral - ANSWERSA mutation can be:
Natural Selection acts to decrease its frequency - ANSWERSWhat happens when a
random mutation conveys an evolutionary disadvantage?
Natural selections doesn't affect htem - ANSWERSNeutral mutations do not impact an
organism's fitness, so...
No, this is the job of mutations - ANSWERSDoes Natural Selection create variation?
Randomly, not purposefully - ANSWERSHow do mutations occur?
Correct Answers
Evolution - ANSWERSA change in the genetic composition of biological populations
over time
Fossil Record - ANSWERSShows the evolution of natural populations over time
Laboratory Experiments - ANSWERSEvolution in a laboratory setting using organisms
with fast generation times
Natural Populations - ANSWERSEvolution within an individual's lifetime
Evolutionary theory - ANSWERSthe entire set of ideas about how evolution takes place
Unifying principle of biology - ANSWERS"Nothing in biology makes sense except in the
light of evolution"
Well-supported; Parsimonious; Falsifiable - ANSWERSWhy is Evolution not "just a
theory"?
Erasmus Darwin - ANSWERSCharles' own grandfather; Proposed that species change
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck - ANSWERSFrench Naturalist who attempted to explain the
mechanisms of evolution; He found that the unimportant traits atrophy; Concluded that
organisms inherit traits that their parents acquired
Lamarckism - ANSWERSPopulations pass on acquired traits to their offspring
Charles Darwin - ANSWERSFather of modern day evolution; sailed on the H.M.S.
Beagle for 5 years to further his studies; studied finches in the Galapagos Islands
Charles Lyell - ANSWERSHis book, "Principles of Geology" Influenced Darwin
Geologic Uniformitarianism - ANSWERSTHe idea that natural processes at work today
have been at work throughout the Earth's history
Thomas Malthus - ANSWERSHis book "An Essay on the Principle of Population"
influenced Darwin; Proposed that populations may grow quickly at first, but their growth
will decrease due to limited resources
Artificial Selection - ANSWERSHuman interference as to what traits are ideal, they
determine an organism's "fitness"
, Natural Selection - ANSWERSThe differential reproductive success of certain
individuals with more-or-less desirable traits; One mechanism by which evolution
occurs; acts on heritable variation
Variation in a trait; Variation must be heritable; Trait must impact an individual's
reproductive success - ANSWERSThree things required for natural selection to occur
Variation - ANSWERSCommonly results from genetic mutations
Heritable - ANSWERSA trait is this when it can be passed on to one's offspring
Differential reproductive success - ANSWERSIndividuals with more desirable traits will
be more likely to pass those traits on to future generations
Populations, not individuals - ANSWERSWhere does evolution occur?
On the Origin of Species - ANSWERSCharles Darwin's book, published in 1859
Gregor Mendel - ANSWERSDeveloped a theory of heredity in the 1860s
Individual differences can either increase or decrease the chance that the individual will
survive and reproduce - ANSWERSDarwin Conclusion from natural environments and
that an individual resembles its parents
Gene Pool - ANSWERSSum of all of the alleles for a particular locus found in the
population
Adaptation - ANSWERSBeneficial mutation that is favored by natural selection
Mutations - ANSWERSchange in nucleotide sequences, is the origin of all genetic
variation
Deleterious(harmful); Beneficial; Neutral - ANSWERSA mutation can be:
Natural Selection acts to decrease its frequency - ANSWERSWhat happens when a
random mutation conveys an evolutionary disadvantage?
Natural selections doesn't affect htem - ANSWERSNeutral mutations do not impact an
organism's fitness, so...
No, this is the job of mutations - ANSWERSDoes Natural Selection create variation?
Randomly, not purposefully - ANSWERSHow do mutations occur?
