BIO 102: EXAM 1 STUDY GUIDE, FOCUSES ON THE
FOUNDATIONAL CONCEPTS OF EVOLUTIONARY
BIOLOGY AND THE DIVERSITY OF LIFE
(MICROORGANISMS AND FUNGI)
Section 1
1. What is the definition of evolution and how does it tie into decent with modification?
a. Evolution is a group of organisms accumulating heritable changes over time
b. Descent with modification is when changes accumulate over generations
c. This means evolution requires multiple generations, does not occur in individuals
2. Define adaptations and environment.
a. Adaptations: inherited characteristics that improve survival and reproduction
in specific environments
b. Environment: both the nonliving environment and other species an
organism interacts with
3. Describe alleles and how do they change when adaptations become more common?
a. Alles: different variations of a gene
b. When adaptations become more common, the alleles that encode them
become more common, and their corresponding traits appear more in nature
4. How does evolution affect an organism’s environment?
a. Evolution can drive adaptations to a population’s environment, both living
and nonliving components
5. Describe population.
a. Population: group of individuals in the same species that can interbreed
6. Compare and contrast micro and macro evolution.
a. Microevolution: small-scale evolution, within a population, NOT change
within an individual
b. Macroevolution: large-scale evolution, making new species or big changes
in groups over time
7. What are the five forces of microevolution, describe them.
a. Natural Selection: individuals with certain inherited traits tend to survive
and reproduce better because of those inherited traits, acts on populations
NOT individuals, this can occur because:
i. Variation exists within a population
ii. Individuals with better adaptations survive and reproduce more than
those without
iii. Adaptations (useful variations) become more common throughout time
b. Mutations: Mutations: changes to the DNA sequence, brand new alleles are forms
i. No, mutations are not always bad, they can cause variation among
populations and create new alleles and stronger adaptations, does
what natural selection cannot and bring new alleles into the
population
,c. Gene Drift: unpredictable and random changes in allele frequency from
one generation to the next, caused by chance events, more pronounced in
small populations
, i. Example: if a hurricane wipes out 80% of a population, then there
is guaranteeably a smaller range of alleles
ii. Bottleneck effect: when a large population suddenly gets small through
natural disasters or human interference, like many beads trying to exit a
bottle through the opening all at one
d. Gene Flow: transfer of alleles from one population to another
i. Example: white flower pollen floating over to a field of red flowers
e. Nonrandom Mating: individuals choosing mates non-randomly, can be
sexual selection or the start of speciation
8. What is artificial selection?
a. Artificial selections: the selective breeding of plants and animals to generate
the traits that humans desire
9. Describe the ways that natural selection can shift populations?
a. Directional selection: natural selection in which one end of the
phenotypes survive better than individuals at the other end, one extreme is
favored
b. Disruptive selection: natural selection where individuals at either end of the
range of phenotypes reproduce better than those in the middle, both extremes are
favored
c. Stabilizing selection: natural selection in which individuals in the middle of
a range of phenotypes survive better than those at either end of the range, the
middle is favored over the extremes
10. Describe sexual selection.
a. Sexual selection: a type of natural selection that makes some individuals more
likely to get mates, even if their adaptations are ill suited for their
environment
11. Define species and answer if they can interbreed and are therefore the same
species (horse and donkey)?
FOUNDATIONAL CONCEPTS OF EVOLUTIONARY
BIOLOGY AND THE DIVERSITY OF LIFE
(MICROORGANISMS AND FUNGI)
Section 1
1. What is the definition of evolution and how does it tie into decent with modification?
a. Evolution is a group of organisms accumulating heritable changes over time
b. Descent with modification is when changes accumulate over generations
c. This means evolution requires multiple generations, does not occur in individuals
2. Define adaptations and environment.
a. Adaptations: inherited characteristics that improve survival and reproduction
in specific environments
b. Environment: both the nonliving environment and other species an
organism interacts with
3. Describe alleles and how do they change when adaptations become more common?
a. Alles: different variations of a gene
b. When adaptations become more common, the alleles that encode them
become more common, and their corresponding traits appear more in nature
4. How does evolution affect an organism’s environment?
a. Evolution can drive adaptations to a population’s environment, both living
and nonliving components
5. Describe population.
a. Population: group of individuals in the same species that can interbreed
6. Compare and contrast micro and macro evolution.
a. Microevolution: small-scale evolution, within a population, NOT change
within an individual
b. Macroevolution: large-scale evolution, making new species or big changes
in groups over time
7. What are the five forces of microevolution, describe them.
a. Natural Selection: individuals with certain inherited traits tend to survive
and reproduce better because of those inherited traits, acts on populations
NOT individuals, this can occur because:
i. Variation exists within a population
ii. Individuals with better adaptations survive and reproduce more than
those without
iii. Adaptations (useful variations) become more common throughout time
b. Mutations: Mutations: changes to the DNA sequence, brand new alleles are forms
i. No, mutations are not always bad, they can cause variation among
populations and create new alleles and stronger adaptations, does
what natural selection cannot and bring new alleles into the
population
,c. Gene Drift: unpredictable and random changes in allele frequency from
one generation to the next, caused by chance events, more pronounced in
small populations
, i. Example: if a hurricane wipes out 80% of a population, then there
is guaranteeably a smaller range of alleles
ii. Bottleneck effect: when a large population suddenly gets small through
natural disasters or human interference, like many beads trying to exit a
bottle through the opening all at one
d. Gene Flow: transfer of alleles from one population to another
i. Example: white flower pollen floating over to a field of red flowers
e. Nonrandom Mating: individuals choosing mates non-randomly, can be
sexual selection or the start of speciation
8. What is artificial selection?
a. Artificial selections: the selective breeding of plants and animals to generate
the traits that humans desire
9. Describe the ways that natural selection can shift populations?
a. Directional selection: natural selection in which one end of the
phenotypes survive better than individuals at the other end, one extreme is
favored
b. Disruptive selection: natural selection where individuals at either end of the
range of phenotypes reproduce better than those in the middle, both extremes are
favored
c. Stabilizing selection: natural selection in which individuals in the middle of
a range of phenotypes survive better than those at either end of the range, the
middle is favored over the extremes
10. Describe sexual selection.
a. Sexual selection: a type of natural selection that makes some individuals more
likely to get mates, even if their adaptations are ill suited for their
environment
11. Define species and answer if they can interbreed and are therefore the same
species (horse and donkey)?
