WVU Biology 117 Final Exam Questions with Complete solutions
Evolution Correct Answer-change in the gene pool of a population over time
Population Correct Answer-All the organisms of a particular species living in the same place at the same time
Gene Pool Correct Answer-All the alleles of all the genes in a species or population
Natural Selection Correct Answer-Differential reproduction based on heritable traits
Biological fitness Correct Answer-The ability of an individual to produce surviving, fertile offspring relative to that ability in other individuals in the population
Facts of Natural selection Correct Answer-- requires varied population
-does not create new traits or alleles
-mutations do not occur to solve problems
-adaptations do not occur because organisms want or need them
-evolution is not progressive
-nat. sel. does not change an organism over its lifetime
-does not make perfect organisms -A fitness trade-off is a compromise between traits in terms of how those
traits perform in the environment
Fossil Record Correct Answer--imprints or remains of organisms that lived in the past
-reveals the appearance (and disappearance) of organisms in a historical sequence
Biogeography Correct Answer--the study of the geographic distribution of species that first suggested to Darwin that today's organisms evolved from ancestral
-species in the same area tend to be more closely related to one another
-must also consider Continental Drift
Homologous structures Correct Answer--comparative anatomy reveals this
-similarity due to shared ancestry
-different functions, different shape on outside, BUT similar bones inside
Vestigial traits Correct Answer-similar in structure but no longer functional
Comparative Embryology Correct Answer-early stages of development are very similar
-developmental homology -embryos of vertebrates begin similarly but then develop differently
Molecular biology Correct Answer-studies look to DNA, RNA, and proteins for differences and similarities between organisms to determine how long they may have shared a common ancestor
Anatomy Correct Answer-the study of an organism's physical structure
Physiology Correct Answer-the study of how the physical structures in an organism function
Five causes of Evolution Correct Answer-1. Genetic Drift a. Bottleneck b. Founder Effect
2. Gene Flow
3. Mutation
4. Natural Selection
5. Nonrandom mating (including sexual selection)
Genetic Drift Correct Answer-- any change in allele frequencies in a population due to chance - random with respect to fitness >especially prevalent in small populations
Two cases of Genetic Drift Correct Answer-- Founder Effect
-Bottleneck Event
Bottleneck Event Correct Answer-sharp reduction in the size of a population due to environmental events (such as earthquakes, floods, fires, disease, or droughts) or human activities (such as genocide)
Founder Effect Correct Answer-when a new colony is founded by a small number of individuals -Example: Deafness in Martha's vineyard >37 to 230 times more common than rest of US
Gene flow Correct Answer--genetic exchange with another population
-Immigration
-Emigration
-Examples: Human movement/colonization
Mutation Correct Answer-the changing of the structure of a gene, resulting in a variant form that may be transmitted to subsequent generations, caused by the alteration of single base units in DNA, or the
Evolution Correct Answer-change in the gene pool of a population over time
Population Correct Answer-All the organisms of a particular species living in the same place at the same time
Gene Pool Correct Answer-All the alleles of all the genes in a species or population
Natural Selection Correct Answer-Differential reproduction based on heritable traits
Biological fitness Correct Answer-The ability of an individual to produce surviving, fertile offspring relative to that ability in other individuals in the population
Facts of Natural selection Correct Answer-- requires varied population
-does not create new traits or alleles
-mutations do not occur to solve problems
-adaptations do not occur because organisms want or need them
-evolution is not progressive
-nat. sel. does not change an organism over its lifetime
-does not make perfect organisms -A fitness trade-off is a compromise between traits in terms of how those
traits perform in the environment
Fossil Record Correct Answer--imprints or remains of organisms that lived in the past
-reveals the appearance (and disappearance) of organisms in a historical sequence
Biogeography Correct Answer--the study of the geographic distribution of species that first suggested to Darwin that today's organisms evolved from ancestral
-species in the same area tend to be more closely related to one another
-must also consider Continental Drift
Homologous structures Correct Answer--comparative anatomy reveals this
-similarity due to shared ancestry
-different functions, different shape on outside, BUT similar bones inside
Vestigial traits Correct Answer-similar in structure but no longer functional
Comparative Embryology Correct Answer-early stages of development are very similar
-developmental homology -embryos of vertebrates begin similarly but then develop differently
Molecular biology Correct Answer-studies look to DNA, RNA, and proteins for differences and similarities between organisms to determine how long they may have shared a common ancestor
Anatomy Correct Answer-the study of an organism's physical structure
Physiology Correct Answer-the study of how the physical structures in an organism function
Five causes of Evolution Correct Answer-1. Genetic Drift a. Bottleneck b. Founder Effect
2. Gene Flow
3. Mutation
4. Natural Selection
5. Nonrandom mating (including sexual selection)
Genetic Drift Correct Answer-- any change in allele frequencies in a population due to chance - random with respect to fitness >especially prevalent in small populations
Two cases of Genetic Drift Correct Answer-- Founder Effect
-Bottleneck Event
Bottleneck Event Correct Answer-sharp reduction in the size of a population due to environmental events (such as earthquakes, floods, fires, disease, or droughts) or human activities (such as genocide)
Founder Effect Correct Answer-when a new colony is founded by a small number of individuals -Example: Deafness in Martha's vineyard >37 to 230 times more common than rest of US
Gene flow Correct Answer--genetic exchange with another population
-Immigration
-Emigration
-Examples: Human movement/colonization
Mutation Correct Answer-the changing of the structure of a gene, resulting in a variant form that may be transmitted to subsequent generations, caused by the alteration of single base units in DNA, or the
