1.

1 Introduction to Evolution:
EQ: How do organisms evolve?
First half of lecture is background history - not note necessary
● Natural Selection: What it is, how it works
● Fitness: What it means
● Who evolves? How?
● What does it mean to adapt? How does this happen?
● Examples of natural selection
● Selective pressures
● Common ancestry (and how natural selection relates)
● Difference between natural selection and artificial selection (similarities too!)

1.2: Evolutionary Forces:

EQ: Why does evolution of organisms occur and how does evolution affect a population over time?
● Understand the definition of evolution - be able to read the graphs/images on the lecture
● Understand the four ways evolution can occur. Explain their similarities and differences
○ Natural selection, Genetic Drift, Gene Flow and Sexual Selection
○ Be able to read all images and graph on the lecture
● Know this vocab:
○ Coevolution
○ Genetic drift
○ Gene flow
○ Natural Selection
○ Bottleneck effect
○ Founder effect
○ Sexual selection
○ Sexual dimorphism
○ Stabilizing selection
○ Disruptive selection
○ Directional selection

1.3: Evidence for Evolution:

EQ: How does evidence from various scientific disciplines support the theory of evolution (and refute
criticisms of the theory)?
● Understand each type of evidence and how it supports the theory:
○ Fossils (know transitional fossils and their significance)
○ Comparative anatomy (know homologous structures, analogous structures, vestigial
organs and embryology)
○ Molecular record
○ Biogeography
○ Observed evolution (know examples - industrial melanism, antibiotic resistance)
● Understand evolution is not goal oriented - what “dictates” evolution?
1.4: Measuring Evolution
EQ: How do we know evolution is happening? How can we measure (quantitatively) that evolution is
occurring?
● Know the difference between individuals and populations when discussing evolution.
● Understand why variation is needed (and how it comes about).
● Know the vocab:
○ Allele
○ Gene
○ Dominant
○ Recessive
○ Homozygous
○ Heterozygous
○ Population
● Review the ways evolution occurs (gene flow, genetic drift, natural selection [i.e. mutation])
● Need to know the hardy-weinberg equation.
○ Need to know the variables
○ Need to know how to solve it
○ Need to know why we use it (practical application)

1.5: Classification
EQ: How do we determine evolutionary relationships?
● Know the three domains
● Understand nomenclature (genus and species)
● Understand the domains are least specific, while species is the most specific
● Know what a phylogeny is
● What is a molecular clock? How is it used?
● What is a cladogram? How do we make it?
○ Understand monophyletic, paraphyletic, polyphyletic

1.6: Speciation
EQ: What is a species and how does evolutionary change lead to the development of a new species?
● Understand that speciation = reproductive isolation (what does this mean?)
● Understand the ways that speciation can occur:
○ Allopatric
○ Sympatric
● Know what a hybrid zone is and why it is important
● Understand barriers that exist between species (that lead them to be reproductively isolated)
○ Prezygotic
■ Habitat
■ Temporal
■ Behavioral
■ Mechanical
■ Gametic
○ Postzygotic:
■ Reduced hybrid viability
 ■ Reduced hybrid fertility
■ Hybrid breakdown
● Know some of the examples at the end of the lecture - important to be able to pull examples at
all times

1.7: Origin of Life

EQ: How did life begin and evolve thereafter?
● Know the four steps of life beginning:
○ Formation of biological molecules (know the Stanley Miller experiment) ○ Proto-cells
○ Information molecule (know the RNA world hypothesis)
○ Reproduction
● Understand that the first organisms were photosynthetic (need to know the basic equation of
photosynthesis) = cyanobacteria
○ This lead to an oxygen boom!

● Oxygenation of Earth led to organisms respiring (need to know the basic equation of cellular
respiration)
● Understand the evolution of eukaryotes through endosymbiosis (relate this to selective
pressures)
○ Know the significance of chloroplasts and mitochondria

1.8:​ ​Prokaryotes​ ​vs.​ ​Eukaryotes

EQ: What the major characteristics that differentiate prokaryotes and eukaryotes?
● Prokaryotic vs. eukaryotic cells
○ Know the three domains - which are prokaryotic? Which are eukaryotic?

● Prokaryotic:
○ Bacteria - good example of a prokaryotic organism (prokarya)
■ Flagella, cilia, pili
■ How do they reproduce?
● Plasmids
● Binary fission
■ How do they create genetic variation? Why do they need to do this?
● Horizontal transfer
○ Conjugation
○ Transformation
○ Transduction
■ Functional roles:
● Cyanobacteria
● Pathogens
● Helping plants
● Eukaryotic:
○ Animal vs. plant cells
○ Evolutionary benefit to membrane-bound organelles
○ Know the function of these organelles:
■ Nucleus
■ Ribosome
■ Golgi Apparatus
■ Rough and smooth ER
■ Plasma membrane
■ Vesicles