©EMILLECT 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
Evolution Final Exam Study Guide
Solutions
Define biological evolution - ANSWER✔✔-any change in the inherited traits of a population that occurs
from one generation to the next
describe the different types of evidence that support the hypothesis that whales evolved from terrestrial
vertebrates - ANSWER✔✔-lungs, placenta, live birth, drink milk produced by mothers, three middle ear
bones, hair (in developing embryo)
synapomorphies
what are the closest living terrestrial relatives of whales? how do we know this? - ANSWER✔✔-
artiodactyls and hippos; in 1990s scientists began comparing DNA and found that whales and hippos
share a more recent common ancestor with each other than with other species of land mammals
why do mutations occur? are they always beneficial? what types of effects do they have when they occur
in virus genomes? - ANSWER✔✔-mutations occur because the cellular machinery that replicates DNA is
not perfect and occasionally makes errors
mutations may be harmful or beneficial
Page 1/120
, ©EMILLECT 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
viruses may be less likely to be recognized by the immune system or more effective at viral replication
within the host, leads to higher reproduction, dominates the population in subsequent generations
how can evolutionary biology help us understand and control a viral outbreak (pandemic)? -
ANSWER✔✔-evolutionary biology can help us understand the genetic sequence of a virus to know
where a virus originates, how long vaccines with provide protection, how public health policies are best
utilized, when a pandemic will end, and how we can prevent future pandemics
natural selection - ANSWER✔✔-a mechanism that can lead to evolution, whereby differential survival
and reproduction of individuals cause some genetic types to replace others
what is the difference between proximate and ultimate causation? provide examples of each -
ANSWER✔✔-proximate explanations focus on a mechanistic understanding of how something
happened; male sticklebacks show aggression towards red belly (sign stimulus) of intruding male
ultimate explanations focus on historical perspectives of how something came to be; male sticklebacks
chase away others to decrease the chance eggs in his nesting territory will be fertilized by another male
describe the hypothetico-deductive method. explain the potential outcomes - ANSWER✔✔-scientific
inquiry proceeds by formulating a hypothesis that can be falsifiable, using a test on observable data
where the outcome is not yet known; reject hypothesis, modify hypothesis, provisionally accept
hypothesis
Page 2/120
, ©EMILLECT 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
define the terms hypothesis, fact, and theory (as used by scientists) - ANSWER✔✔-hypothesis: informed
conjecture or statement of what might be true
fact: hypothesis that has acquired so much supporting evidence that we act as if it is true
scientific theory: a comprehensive, coherent body of interconnected statements, based on reasoning
and evidence, that explain some aspect of nature
what is the difference between how scientists use the word theory and how it is used in everyday
language? - ANSWER✔✔-a scientific theory has been proven
in everyday language, a theory refers to something that is more like a scientific hypothesis, and has not
been proven but is only an idea
carolus linnaeus - ANSWER✔✔-father of modern taxonomy; organized living things into a nested
hierarchy of taxa
nicolas steno - ANSWER✔✔-recognized that fossils were once living things; stratigraphy
george cuvier - ANSWER✔✔-compared elephant fossils to skeletons of living elephants from African and
India which helped establish that many fossils were remains of extinct species
mary anning - ANSWER✔✔-discovered several species of extinct marine mammals
Page 3/120
, ©EMILLECT 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
james hutton - ANSWER✔✔-realized that rocks formed through imperceptibly slow changes; observable
processes produce small changes that accumulate over time; earth must be old
william smith - ANSWER✔✔-noticed that different rock layers contain distinct fossils
george buffon - ANSWER✔✔-proposed that earth had formed according to the laws of physics over more
than 70,000 years; each species had a supply of organic particles
jean-baptiste lamarck - ANSWER✔✔-believed traits acquired in a lifetime were passed to offspring and
that simple organisms always evolved to more complex organisms
charles darwin - ANSWER✔✔-unofficial naturalist on HMS Beagle, published Origin of the Species, first
to propose a correct mechanism for how life changed over time; descent with modification, natural
selection
alfred russel wallace - ANSWER✔✔-had similar ideas to charles darwin about evolution and natural
selection;
charles lyell - ANSWER✔✔-earth's landscapes had been created by many small changes, not gigantic
catastrophes
what is the Great Chain of Being? why did scientists stop using it to categorize the natural world? -
ANSWER✔✔-origin in ancient Greek philosophy; species are arranged on a scale from lower to higher
Page 4/120
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
Evolution Final Exam Study Guide
Solutions
Define biological evolution - ANSWER✔✔-any change in the inherited traits of a population that occurs
from one generation to the next
describe the different types of evidence that support the hypothesis that whales evolved from terrestrial
vertebrates - ANSWER✔✔-lungs, placenta, live birth, drink milk produced by mothers, three middle ear
bones, hair (in developing embryo)
synapomorphies
what are the closest living terrestrial relatives of whales? how do we know this? - ANSWER✔✔-
artiodactyls and hippos; in 1990s scientists began comparing DNA and found that whales and hippos
share a more recent common ancestor with each other than with other species of land mammals
why do mutations occur? are they always beneficial? what types of effects do they have when they occur
in virus genomes? - ANSWER✔✔-mutations occur because the cellular machinery that replicates DNA is
not perfect and occasionally makes errors
mutations may be harmful or beneficial
Page 1/120
, ©EMILLECT 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
viruses may be less likely to be recognized by the immune system or more effective at viral replication
within the host, leads to higher reproduction, dominates the population in subsequent generations
how can evolutionary biology help us understand and control a viral outbreak (pandemic)? -
ANSWER✔✔-evolutionary biology can help us understand the genetic sequence of a virus to know
where a virus originates, how long vaccines with provide protection, how public health policies are best
utilized, when a pandemic will end, and how we can prevent future pandemics
natural selection - ANSWER✔✔-a mechanism that can lead to evolution, whereby differential survival
and reproduction of individuals cause some genetic types to replace others
what is the difference between proximate and ultimate causation? provide examples of each -
ANSWER✔✔-proximate explanations focus on a mechanistic understanding of how something
happened; male sticklebacks show aggression towards red belly (sign stimulus) of intruding male
ultimate explanations focus on historical perspectives of how something came to be; male sticklebacks
chase away others to decrease the chance eggs in his nesting territory will be fertilized by another male
describe the hypothetico-deductive method. explain the potential outcomes - ANSWER✔✔-scientific
inquiry proceeds by formulating a hypothesis that can be falsifiable, using a test on observable data
where the outcome is not yet known; reject hypothesis, modify hypothesis, provisionally accept
hypothesis
Page 2/120
, ©EMILLECT 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
define the terms hypothesis, fact, and theory (as used by scientists) - ANSWER✔✔-hypothesis: informed
conjecture or statement of what might be true
fact: hypothesis that has acquired so much supporting evidence that we act as if it is true
scientific theory: a comprehensive, coherent body of interconnected statements, based on reasoning
and evidence, that explain some aspect of nature
what is the difference between how scientists use the word theory and how it is used in everyday
language? - ANSWER✔✔-a scientific theory has been proven
in everyday language, a theory refers to something that is more like a scientific hypothesis, and has not
been proven but is only an idea
carolus linnaeus - ANSWER✔✔-father of modern taxonomy; organized living things into a nested
hierarchy of taxa
nicolas steno - ANSWER✔✔-recognized that fossils were once living things; stratigraphy
george cuvier - ANSWER✔✔-compared elephant fossils to skeletons of living elephants from African and
India which helped establish that many fossils were remains of extinct species
mary anning - ANSWER✔✔-discovered several species of extinct marine mammals
Page 3/120
, ©EMILLECT 2024/2025 ACADEMIC YEAR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
FIRST PUBLISH OCTOBER 2024
james hutton - ANSWER✔✔-realized that rocks formed through imperceptibly slow changes; observable
processes produce small changes that accumulate over time; earth must be old
william smith - ANSWER✔✔-noticed that different rock layers contain distinct fossils
george buffon - ANSWER✔✔-proposed that earth had formed according to the laws of physics over more
than 70,000 years; each species had a supply of organic particles
jean-baptiste lamarck - ANSWER✔✔-believed traits acquired in a lifetime were passed to offspring and
that simple organisms always evolved to more complex organisms
charles darwin - ANSWER✔✔-unofficial naturalist on HMS Beagle, published Origin of the Species, first
to propose a correct mechanism for how life changed over time; descent with modification, natural
selection
alfred russel wallace - ANSWER✔✔-had similar ideas to charles darwin about evolution and natural
selection;
charles lyell - ANSWER✔✔-earth's landscapes had been created by many small changes, not gigantic
catastrophes
what is the Great Chain of Being? why did scientists stop using it to categorize the natural world? -
ANSWER✔✔-origin in ancient Greek philosophy; species are arranged on a scale from lower to higher
Page 4/120
