Biology & Geology 4º ESO IES Joan Miró

EXAM OF UNIT 9: ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF LIFE

NAME: English mistakes Final mark

Date: Group:

1. a) Name the theories proposed by the following scientists: (0.5 marks)

a. Oparin: Abiogenic theory about the origin of life
b. Lamarck: Theory of inheritance of acquired traits
c. Darwin: Darwinism
d. Wallace: Darwinism
e. Margulis: Endosymbiotic theory

b) What was Louis Pasteur’s main contribution to the study of the origin of life? (0.5 mark)
Pasteur’s work was so important because he demonstrated that microorganisms
are not produced by spontaneous generation.

2. The table below provides information on three groups of fossils and on the present-day
horse.

a) This data can be used as an evidence for evolution. Can you explain how? (0.6 marks)
The fact that the
leg skeletons
are much the
same but have
gradually
changed, is
strong evidence
that present-day
horses may
have evolved
over time from
the other three
animals

b) What type of evidence is it? (0.2 marks) Paleontological evidence / fossil evidence.

c) What further research can scientists undertake to find out how horses have evolved over
time? (0.2 marks)
Search for skeletons belonging to ancestors of the horse that lived 50 to 40
million years ago.

3. a) Name a vestigial organ found in humans. (0.2 marks) Wisdom teeth

b) What was it originally used for? (0.2 marks) To grind and crush food

c) Why is it not important anymore? (0.2 marks) Because the diet that we follow
nowadays contains cooked food that is much softer than the one eaten by our
ancestors.

d) Are vestigial organs useful to support the theory of evolution? Why? (0.4 marks)
They are very useful as the fact of having an organ with no function nowadays
indicates that they should have had an use in the past with different environmental
conditions. As the conditions have changed they are progressively disappearing.
 Biology & Geology 4º ESO IES Joan Miró

4. Nocturnal birds such as owls have very good eyes that allow them to see in conditions with
little light. How would Lamarck explain this fact? (1 mark)
The ancestors of these nocturnal birds did not have eyes to see with little light.
The environmental conditions changed and probably there was not enough
food available during day so these birds started to force their eyes in order to
be able to hunt at night. Gradually, eyes with better vision were developed and
transmitted to the descendants.

5. Identify and explain the four stages that lead to the origination of a new species. (1
mark)
The creation of a new species is a long and complex process with four main stages:
- Production of evolutionary changes in populations: Due to sexual reproduction
and mutations differences between individuals appear in the population.
- Genetic isolation of part of the population: Some individuals separate from the
original population and don’t reproduce with it for a long period of time.
- Gradual differentiation: The new population accumulate changes due to natural
selection and adaptation to the new conditions.
- Speciation: Over time, genetic changes produce such significant differences that
it is no longer possible for the two populations to reproduce to each other.
From this moment, the populations are considered to be two different species.

6. a) What was the purpose of Milller’s experiment? (0.5 mark)

Miller’s experiment goal was to prove the Oparin’s theory about the origin of life on
Earth.

b) Did he achieve his goal? (0.5 mark)

He was able to get organic molecules from the gases present in the primitive
atmosphere, but no living things were obtained.

7. a) According to Darwin, why do individuals of the same species compete against each
other? (0.4 marks)
They compete because the lack of resources: space, food or partners for
reproduction.

b) What are the consequences of this constant competition in relation to evolution? (0.6
marks)
The consequence is the survival of the fittest and natural selection: the individuals
with the most favourable characteristics are the ones that survive and then
reproduce; this way they transmit these characteristics to their descendants and
they become more common in the population.

5. State if the following sentences are true or false about Oparin’s theory on the origin of life.
Correct the false ones. (1 mark)
a) The primitive atmosphere was made up of ammonia, methane, water vapour and oxygen. F
b) The synthesis of simple organic molecules was due to the energy provided by storms,
ultraviolet rays and volcanic eruptions. T
c) The temperature of the water rose so the water vapour in the atmosphere condensed and
formed the seas. F
d) Organic molecules synthesised by reactions accumulated in the water and joined together
to form bigger molecules that eventually were surrounded by a primitive membrane to form
coacervates. T
e) We consider the beginning of life on Earth from the moment the coacervates were able to
interact with the environment. F
 Biology & Geology 4º ESO IES Joan Miró

9. a) What does the theory of fixism state? (0.2 mark)It states that living things were
created as they are nowadays and they have not changed over time.

b) Which theory replaced it since the late 19th century? (0.2 mark) The evolution theory.

c) Why did it take so long to reject it? (0.6 mark)

Fixism was not ruled out definitively for many years because of the following
reasons:
- Evolutionary processes are slow and cannot be observed in one human life.
- There was no understanding of genetics, so it was difficult to understand how
new characteristics appear and can change a species into a new one.
- In those times, defending an evolutionary theory meant confronting religious
doctrines

10. Look at the image and answer:

a) How can you explain the existence of so
similar species in different continents? (0.4
mark)
We can explain the existence of these
similar species if we think that they all
come from the same ancestor that
inhabited the Earth when all continents
were together.

b) How can you explain the differences between

them? (0.4 mark)
They are different because as the continents were separating the populations of
this common ancestor had to adapt to the different environmental conditions by
natural selection.

c) Is it an evidence of evolution? If so, which one? (0.2 mark)Yes, it is a biogeographical

evidence.