G10 Evolution Unit Test Study Guide

Theory of Evolution Part I

Theory of Evolution Part II
● speciation → how a new kind of plant/animal species develops; occurs when a group within a species
separates from other members of its species and develops its unique characteristics
● struggle for existence → the automatic competition among members of a natural population for limited
resources such as food, water, and space that results in natural selection.
● artificial selection → controlled process in which humans selectively breed animals/plants to produce
offsprings with desired traits or characteristics.
○ Ex: higher crop yield; increased resistance to diseases
● natural selection → a mechanism of evolution; organism more adapted to their environment are more
likely to survive and pass on the genes that aided their success
○ Individuals with certain favorable inherited traits leave more offspring than individuals with other
traits

● Hypotheses about the origin of life

○ Theory of special creation: living organisms were formed on our planet by some supernatural
power called God/Creator
○ Abiogenesis or Theory of spontaneous creation: life arose from non-living matter through natural
chemical processes.
○ Biogenesis: life arose from pre-existing life only
○ Panspermia hypothesis: life came on the earth from some other planet in the form of seed/spore
● Darwin's theory of the evolution of organisms → all living organisms share a common ancestry and have
evolved from a single common ancestor over millions of years. The descendants had accumulated
modifications/adaptations that fit them to a specific environment.
○ “descent with modification” (led to diversity of life on Earth”, the idea that species change over time,
give rise to new species, and share a common ancestor.
○ 3 main principles: variation (different traits); inheritance, natural selection
● The modern theory of evolution → the diversity of life on Earth has arisen through natural selection
acting on genetic variation, which arises from random mutations and genetic recombination.
- theories of macro (when you get whole species out of something, speciation event) vs
microevolution (small changes to a species such as losing wisdom teeth), modern mechanisms of
evolution (adaptive radiation). If an environment changes, the traits that enhance survival in that
environment will also gradually change, or evolve (natural selection)
- *adaptive radiation- the sudden appearance of many new species when organisms move into
unoccupied habitats and niches

Justify Darwin's contribution to the development of the idea of evolution: Darwin presented significant
evidence from his voyage on HMS Beagle, recording information about how species differentiated because of the
environment they live in. He visited four continents and collected specimens of a great variety of plants, animals
and fossils. He presented those facts, supporting his theory of evolution, in his book “On the origin of species”.

Factors of evolution according to Charles Darwin:

1. variation in populations - individuals of a species are not identical
2. inheritance - traits are passed from generation to generation
3. offspring competition/overproduction - more offspring are born than can survive
4. natural selection/survival of the fittest - only survivors of the competition for resources will reproduce
Factors of evolution according to modern evolutionary theory:
1. natural selection
2. random genetic drift - the change in frequency of an existing gene variant in the population due to random
chance (may cause alleles to disappear completely and thereby reduce genetic variation/opposite - to
appear more frequently)
3. mutation - a change in the DNA sequence of an organism; it generates the genetic variation on which the
evolutionary process depends
4. migration -gene flow in which there is a transfer of genetic material
5. system of mating - describes how males and females pair when choosing a mate (monogamy, polygamy,
promiscuity)

Describes, compares by essential features and illustrates with examples of:

● microevolution - changes in the frequency of a gene in a population. These are subtle changes that can
occur in very short periods of time, and may not be visible to a casual observer
○ Ex: evolving resistance (mosquitoes resistant to pesticides)
● macroevolution - evolution of groups larger than an individual; genetic change that occurs over long time
scales, resulting in large changes in heritable traits in a population.
○ Ex: emergence of tetrapods
● directions of the evolutionary process - natural selection, random (historical) events, patterns of
migration and interbreeding, mutational events, and horizontal gene transfer across species boundaries;
● pathways of biological progress - a series of mutations in the DNA that leads to a certain product or a
change in the cell

Evolution of Humans Part 1

● anthropogenesis - the development of the human race; hominization.

● race - genetically distinct populations of individuals within the same species; an informal subdivision of
subspecies which are physically different in their phenotype

Australopithecus afarensis
(Lucy) - 3.2 million/ 3.8 million - 2.9 million
bipeds, many ape-like traits - tree climbing adaptations, a small brain, and a long jaw
Homo Habilis - 2.4 - 1.5 million years ago
'handy man' because of stone tools; long arms; bipedalism; omnivorous diet

Homo Erectus - 1.9 million - 200 000 years ago

Hunting and butchering animals; bigger braincase capacity, massively constructed face, reduction of teeth size,
tools (stone, charred animal bones, hand axes); fire usage (partially burnt animal bones), might be the first species
to create art; migrated to other parts of the world

Homo neanderthalensis - 150 000 - 40 000 years ago

excellent hunting skills, adapting well, muscular & strong, short, larger brain size than the modern human; complex
stone tools, blade tools, use fire for warmth, cooking and protection, wear animal hides; art; the dead are buried

Homo sapiens - 160 000 years ago or 250 000

(modern humans = wise man) long limbs and truncated bodies; big and round braincase; developed tools, clothing,
art and fire; domestication of animals

Causes of the human race:

- Amount of melanin in the skin
- The amount of UV exposure
- Genetics
- The quality of melanosomes
- Pigments present in the skin

Proves that human races belong to the same species (Homo sapiens) and argues the need for equality
between them:
- All people share the same genome; people can be different based on gene code variations; we have been
reproduced the same way as everyone else
- All of them have a common body plan, structure, physiology and metabolism. All of them have a constant
chromosome number, that is, 46, their genetic makeup is also similar, almost 99.9% DNA is the same in all
humans.

Lists and illustrates, with examples, groups of evidence for the evolution of organisms (paleontological,
biogeography, comparative anatomy, comparative embryological evolution, biomolecular).
● paleontological - the study of the history of life on Earth as based on fossils (absolute + relative age)
● biogeography - the branch of biology that deals with the geographical distribution of plants and animals.
● comparative anatomy - comparative study of the body structures of different species of animals in order to
understand the adaptive changes they have undergone in the course of evolution from common ancestors
● comparative embryological evolution - the study of the similarities and differences in the embryos of
different species
● biomolecular - all species of live have the same basic genetic machinery of DNA and RNA + all type sof
green plants have similar types of chlorophyll

The fossil record ⇒ the geographic distribution of living organisms ⇒ embryology ⇒ homologous body structures
⇒ biological molecules
 ● analogous - similarity of function and superficial resemblance of structures that have different origins
(wings of the moth and wigs of the bird - both are developed for flying)
● homologous - having the same typical structure and position. Two anatomical structures or behavioral
traits within different organisms which originated from a structure or trait of their common ancestral
organism.
○ Body parts that are similar in structure but are different in function
● vestigial organs - organs, tissues or cells in a body which are no more functional the way they were in
their ancestral form of the trait (the pelvic bone of a snake, the wings of flightless birds)
○ Ex: appendix; coccyx, wisdom teeth
● phylogenetic order - the evolutionary relatedness among groups of organisms
● fossils - the remains or impression of a prehistoric plant or animal embedded in rock and preserved in
petrified form. (when a living organism (such as a plant or animal) dies and is quickly buried by sediment
(such as mud, sand or volcanic ash)
● guiding fossils - a fossil known to have lived in a particular geologic age that can be used to date the rock
layer in which it is found
● transitional forms - a species that is intermediate between two different species.

Selects and cites appropriate examples to support biological evolution:

● Anatomy - species may share similar physical features because the feature was present in a common
ancestor (homologous structures).
● Molecular biology - DNA and the genetic code reflect the shared ancestry of life. …
● Biogeography
● Fossils
● Direct observation
● archaeopteryx → the common ancestor between birds and reptiles
● Resistance of bacteria to antibiotics
● peppered moth in England
● Insecticide resistant insects