Unit VII Review Questions
1. Describe a scientific theory.
a. A widely supported hypothesis that is based off repeated experimentation and
investigation
2. Describe the theory of abiogenesis.
a. The theory that life can come from non-living things (spontaneous generation)
3. Describe Redi’s experiment that was used to disprove abiogenesis.
a. A piece of meat was placed in three containers (unsealed, sealed, covered with a cloth)
and was observed to see if maggots appeared on the meat. In the unsealed container,
maggots appeared. In the sealed container, no maggots appeared. In the container
covered with a cloth, maggots appeared on top of the cloth.
4. Describe Pasteur’s experiment that was used to disprove abiogenesis.
a. Beef broth was placed in flasks and was boiled. The stem from one flask was broken off
and the stem from the other flask was left on. Bacteria grew in the flask with no stem
and bacteria did not grow in the flask with a stem.
5. Describe the theory of biogenesis.
a. The theory that life can only come from other living things.
6. What is evolution?
a. A change in an organism that occurs over many generations.
7. Describe Lamarck’s theory of acquired characteristics.
a. An individual could acquire a trait during its lifetime and pass it on to their offspring. He
described the necks of a giraffes getting longer because they needed to reach higher
food.
8. Who is considered the father of evolution?
a. Charles Darwin
9. How did Darwin’s work influence Lamarck’s work.
a. Lamarck’s work was proven false
10. Describe Darwin’s theory of natural selection.
a. The survival of the best adapted individuals leads to higher success in reproduction and
variations will be passed on to their offspring.
11. What is an adaptation?
a. Heritable trait that suits an organism to its natural function in its environment.
12. Give an example of a structural adaptation.
a. Mimicry, camouglage
13. Give an example of a behavioral adaptation.
a. Herding, schooling, growling
14. Give an example of a physiological adaptation.
a. Enzymes, oxygen-binding of hemoglobin, sight
15. How long ago was Earth formed?
a. 4.6 billion years ago
16. Earth’s early atmosphere lacked what pivotal gas?
a. Oxygen
17. What gases were present on early Earth?
a. Water vapor, methane, hydrogen, ammonia
18. Describe Miller and Urey’s experiment.
a. Recreated Earth’s early conditions using a simulated environment and introduced
electricity into the system.
19. What happened in Miller and Urey’s experiment when electricity was introduced?
a. Amino acids formed making proteins and eventually the first cells
20. Describe early Earth organisms.
a. Prokaryotic, anaerobic, autotrophic organisms
21. What caused oxygen to be introduced on early Earth?
a. Photosynthesis from the early Earth organisms
22. Describe the major event of the Precambrian era.
a. Production of oxygen
23. Describe the organisms living in the Mesozoic era.
a. Flowering plants, dinosaurs and mammals.
24. Describe type of organism first appeared in the Cenozoic era.
a. Placental mammals and humans.
25. Describe the endosymbiotic theory.
a. Smaller organisms were consumed by larger organisms created the first eukaryotic cells.
The smaller cells evolved into mitochondria and chloroplasts and the nuclear membrane
formed.
26. What is population evolution?
a. Overall change in a whole population of organisms
27. What is the gene pool?
a. All of the available genes carried in a species
28. What is genetic drift?
a. Change in the frequency of an allele in a population
29. Describe stabilizing selection.
a. Nature favors the average phenotype in a population.
30. How might stabilizing selection affect genetic variation in a population?
a. Decrease the amount of genetic variation
31. Describe directional selection.
a. Nature favors one extreme phenotype in a population.
32. How might directional selection affect the average phenotype?
a. Causes a change in the average phenotype
33. Describe disturbing selection.
a. Nature favors both extreme phenotypes in a population.
34. What is speciation?
a. The evolution of a new species due to changes in each population
35. What can cause changes in allele frequencies in the gene pool?
a. Geographic isolation, reproductive isolation, mutation, change in chromosome number
36. Describe gradualism in terms of population evolution.
a. Speciation that occurs over a long period due to the accumulation of small changes
37. Describe punctuated equilibrium in terms of population evolution.
a. Species that occurs in rapid bursts that may be separated by thousands of years of
stability
38. What is co-evolution? Give an example.
a. Two species evolving at the same time; insects and flowering plants
39. What is convergent evolution? Give an example.
a. Two species evolving similar traits for similar habitats; penguin, fish, dolphin
40. What is divergent evolution? Give an example.
a. Two species become more different over time; Grand Canyon squirrels
41. What is the adaptation of camouflage?
a. Organisms blend into their environments
42. What is the adaptation of mimicry?
a. Organism imitates/copies another species to ward off predators
43. How do we see natural selection in our environment?
a. Pesticide and antibiotic resistance; mutation rate in viruses
44. How is a bacterial infection treated?
a. Antibiotics
45. What is used to fight against viral infections?
a. Antivirals
46. How is a viral infection prevented?
a. Vaccine
47. What is a vaccine?
a. Injection of weakened particles to trigger an immune response in an organism
48. How are B-cells used within the immune response?
a. Produce antibodies and recognize infected cells
49. How are T-cells used within the immune response?
a. Help B-cells and kill infected cells
50. What is active immunity?
a. Provides protection with a direct immune response
51. What is passive immunity?
a. Protection is provided from another source
52. How is biochemical (molecular) evidence used to support evolution?
a. Compares the DNA sequences of organisms to determine who similar they are
53. How are chromosomal similarities used to support evolution?
a. Compares the karyotypes of organisms to compare the chromosomes of similar
organisms
54. How can relative dating of fossils be used to support evolution?
a. Fossils can be compared in order of appearance in nearby rocks
55. Where are the oldest fossils found in rock layers?
a. At the bottom
56. How can absolute dating of fossils be used to support evolution?
a. Uses radioactive isotopes to determine the exact age of a fossil
57. How can embryology be used to support evolution?
a. Organisms are compared as embryos to see similarities and how those similarities
change as the organism develops.
58. How can homologous structures be used to support evolution?
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a. Organism have a similar bone structure but are used in different manners; indicates a
common ancestor
How can analogous structures be used to support evolution?
a. Structures that perform the same function but are different anatomically; indicates a
similar habitat
How can vesitigial structures be used to support evolution?
a. Structures that once had a purpose but no longer are needed; provide a link to a
previous ancestor
Give an example of a vestigial structure in humans.
a. Ear muscles, male nipples, wisdom teeth, coccyx (tailbone), body hair, tonsils, appendix
Give an example of a vesitigial structure found in another organism.
a. Whales: hip bones indicate whales may have once walked and/or lived on land
What is classification?
a. Science of grouping organisms into taxonomic groups based on similarities among
organisms
What is taxonomy?
a. Classifying and scientifically naming organisms into individual groups (taxa)
Who was the first to classify organisms?
a. Aristotle
How were the first organisms classified?
a. Plants and animals then later subdivided into water, land and air
Who expanded on the initial classification system to develop the modern system?
a. Linnaeus
What are the seven classifications on the modern classification system?
a. Kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species
Which of the classifications allows organisms to breed and produce fertile offspring?
a. Species
Linnaeus was also created with the process of binomial nomenclature. What is binomial
nomenclature?
a. Two-word naming system to group organisms based on their genus and species
How related are organisms with the same genus?
a. Most closely related
What is the scientific name for modern humans?
a. Homo sapiens sapien
What are the three domains in modern taxonomy?
a. Archaea, bacteria, eukarya
Which domain is the most diverse?
a. Eukarya
Describe the organisms that would be classified as archebacteria.
a. Single-celled, anaerobic, prokaryotic bacteria that live in extreme conditions
Describe the organisms that would be classified as eubacteria.
a. Single-celled, prokaryotic bacteria that can be autotrophic, heterotrophic or
chemotrophic
Describe the organisms that would be classified as eukarya.
a. Protista, fungi, anamalia, plantae
78. What makes a plant-like protist different than other protists?
a. Nutrition through photosynthesis
79. What makes an animal-like protist different than other protists?
a. Movement through cilia, flagella, amoeba
80. What makes a fungi-like protist different than other protists?
a. Nutrition through decomposing (breaking down dead matter)
Use the diagram above to answer the questions below.
81. Which organism is most closely related to proteobacteria?
a. Spirochetes
82. Which organism in the archaea domain is most closely related to bacteria?
a. Pyrodicticum
83. Which organism in the eukaryote domain is diplomonads?
a. Microsporidia
Use the cladogram below to answer the questions
84. Which organisms contain lungs?
a. 4, 5, 6, 7
85. Which organisms are endothermic?
a. 6, 7
86. What characteristic(s) are found in all of the organisms listed above?
a. Vertebrae
Use the dichotomous key above to answer the questions below.
87. What is the species of leaf for leaf III?
a. Aesculus (buckeye)
88. What is the species of leaf for leaf V?
a. Cercis (redbud)