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Ch. 1-4
EVOLUTION – ESSENTIAL VOCAB
Name ________________________________________________
1. Evolution
2. Fossil
3. Petrified
Changes in organisms over time
The traces or remains of dead organisms
Type of fossil where minerals replace the organism into
stone
4. Amber Preserved
Type of fossil preserved in tree resin
5. Primitive
Old, archaic, earliest form
6. Mass Extinction
Large scale death of an entire species
7. Plate Tectonics
Movement of the Earth’s plates
8. Pangaea
Supercontinent existing 330 million years ago
9. Spontaneous Generation The disproved idea that nonliving things produce living
things
10. Biogenesis
Organisms only arise, come from, other organisms
11. Protocell
Basic first cell originating life
12. Archaebacteria
Oldest type of Bacteria, most primitive of all life on Earth
13. Anaerobic
Respiration without the use of oxygen
14. Variations
Changes or differences among organisms
15. Artificial Selection
Humans intentionally mating organisms with desired
traits….aka selective breeding
16. Natural Selection
The best adapted organisms in the environment survive
and reproduce….aka survival of the fittest
17. Acquired Trait
A change in an organism not due to an inherited factor
18. Inherited Trait
A characteristic passed on from parents to offspring
during reproduction
19. Survival of the Fittest See Natural Selection
20. Best Adapted
Organisms with the best traits that allow it to survive and
reproduce ….aka Survival of the Fittest
21. Adaptation
Any variation in an organism that better allows it to
survive and reproduce
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22. Resistance
23. Selecting Factor
The ability to withstand a condition
A condition that allows some organisms to better survive
and reproduce over others
24. Comparative Anatomy Comparing similarities in structure, bones
25. Analogous Structure Structures similar in function but not structure…not
related
26. Homologous Structure Similar structures representing relatedness, ancestry
27. Vestigial Structure
A once used structure that no longer functions
28. Comparative Embryology Comparing similarities in embryos, development
29. Gene Pool
The amount of different genes in a population
30. Gene Frequency
The ratio of genes in a population
31. Genetic Equilibrium The genes of a population are remaining stable from
generation to generation, not changing
32. Speciation
The formation of a new species due to evolution
33. Geographic Barrier
A physical barrier preventing species from one another,
mountains, river, etc.
34. Reproductive Isolation When a species can no longer reproduce with one
another due to evolution
35. Mutation
Any change in an organisms DNA
36. Gradualism
The slow and steady accumulation of changes in an
organisms
37. Punctuated Equilibrium Sudden change in an organism followed by stability
38. Adaptive Radiation The diversity of organisms from a common ancestor
39. Opposable Thumb
A primate/human trait allowing for grasping of small
objects
40. Hominoid/Hominid Members of the primate family, human ancestors
41. Neanderthals
A close Homo sapiens relative that went extinct about
40,000 years ago
42. Homo sapiens
Latin name for present day human
43. Bipedal
Walking on two feet
44. Specialist
An organism that eats one type of food
45. Generalist
An organism that eats a variety of food
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46. Primate
47. Competition
48. Limited Resources
49. Cladogram
50. Phylogenetic Tree
Group of animals that includes, humans, apes, monkeys
The struggle to obtain resources
Limited resources such as food, water, space, gases, etc.
A branching diagram showing relatedness among
organisms
See cladogram
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BELLRINGER:
Essential Questions:
1. Identify different
types of fossils and
how they are formed.
2. Describe
conditions of early
Earth.
Chapters 1-4 The Record of Life
Early History of Earth – What was Early Earth Like?
Very Hot, Toxic, Radioactive, No Oxygen, No Water, inhabitable!

Estimated Age of Earth
About 4.6 Billion years

Estimated Age of First Organisms
About 3.4 Billion Years
3. Name and
describe Earth’s
earliest organisms?
PROOF OF LIFE – FOSSILS
Fossil Types
Formation
Trace Fossil
Amber
Any evidence left from an organism...print, trail,
burrow, etc.
Organism dies and is buried in sediment leaving
behind a mold of it
Organism dies and is preserved with minerals into
stone
Organism dies and is preserved in tree resin
Frozen, Tar
Organism dies and is preserved in ice and/or tar
Casts/Molds
Petrified
SUMMARY:
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BELLRINGER:
Essential Questions:
1. Compare and
contrast relative
dating with
radioactive dating.
What types of information might fossils tell us





Size of organism
How/if organism moved
Diet of organism
Ancient climate
Geography
Determining the age of rocks and fossils:

2. Give examples of
information that
fossils can tell us
about Earth and
organisms pasts.
Relative Dating & the Law of Superposition
In rock layers that have not been
disturbed, the layers at the top are
younger than those below it.

Radiometric (Radioactive) Dating
Using radioactive elements to
determine a more specific age of the rock/fossil.
The Chronology of Earth – Geologic Time Scale

Precambrian Era
Oldest, 4.6-1.8 billion years ago, little life due to Earth’s toxic
environment. Archaebacteria and other simple organisms.
3. Explain why
primitive organisms
should be simple and
unicellular? Give an
example.

Paleozoic Era
1.8 billion-248 million years ago, much diversity of life
especially in the oceans, era ends with mass extinction.

Mesozoic Era
248 million- 65 million years ago, much diversity of life
especially on land, age of reptiles and large organisms, era
ends with mass extinction.

Cenozoic Era
65 million- now, age of mammals (human)
SUMMARY:
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BELLRINGER:
Essential Questions:
1. Why is Earth
divided up into
periods, eras, etc.?
2. What was
Pangaea?
Induce three facts from the above chart.

3. Eras are created
based on major
what?
(Answers will vary)
Cenozoic is the age of Mammals…including man.
 Mesozoic was the age of Dinosaurs.
 Time is divided into Eras and Periods.
Induce three facts from the map. (Answers
will
vary)

Pangea was a large continent.
 Africa and South America were once
connected.
 The Pacific Ocean was present.
SUMMARY:
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BELLRINGER:
Essential Questions:
1. Explain how
spontaneous
generation was
disproved.
The Origin of Life – Theories Disproved……theories are subject to change as new research
develops!

Spontaneous Generation
A disproved theory suggesting living things come from nonliving
things.
The Origin of Life – Modern Ideas “How did life begin on Earth”

2. What molecules
are necessary for
life?
Simple Organic Molecules Formed
Simple carbon containing
molecules appeared before life
on Earth. Proteins, Lipids,
Carbohydrates, Nucleic Acids.

The First True Cells “Heterotroph
Hypothesis”
First forms of life…first
protocell…was an anaerobic,
prokaryotic, heterotrophic, unicellular bacteria.
-Archaebacteria
3. Why must the
first “Protocells”
have been
heterotrophic and
anaerobic?
First organisms on Earth, about 3.4
billion years ago-present, live in harsh
environments still today!
-Photosynthesizing Prokaryotes
Next organisms to evolve, capable of
photosynthesis, resulting in increase in
oxygen and the forming of ozone shield.
SUMMARY:
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BELLRINGER:
Essential Questions
Charles Darwin and Natural Selection
Evolution is
1. Explain Darwin’s
Natural Selection,
citing variations in
your answer.
The change in organisms over time

Darwin’s work on the HMS Beagle
1831 sailed around the world and analyzed and recorded
observations of various organisms.

Darwin in the Galapagos
Focused work on islands off the coast of South America. Darwin
observed unique island species with some similarities to other
species from around the world.

2. What is meant by
the terms “survival
of the fittest”?
What insight did he gain based on his observations?
He observed that traits of organisms vary in a population and
that these variations are inherited from parent to offspring.
Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection
The current theory of evolution that states
*variations exist in a population
*some variations are favorable and allow
the organism to find more resources
3. Explain
“variations don’t
exist out of need”.
SUMMARY:
*more resources ensures a better chance to survive, reproduce
and pass on those favorable adaptations to offspring
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BELLRINGER:
Essential Questions: Adaptations
Any favorable variation in an organism that increases their
1. Define
chance of survival.
adaptations and give
an example.
Examples of Adaptations

Mimicry
A structural adaptation that enables
a species to resemble another.

2. Explain how
resistance to
antibiotics in
bacteria represents
natural selection.
What is the
selecting agent?
A physical adaptation that enables a
species to blend in with their surroundings.

Present Day Evolution
Bacterial Resistance to Antibiotics
Bacteria are usually clones of one another but since they
reproduce so quickly the chance of mutation is high. A mutation
may result in resistance to antibiotics and the ability of the
bacteria to withstand the drug. These resistant bacteria do not
die and pass on their resistance to their offspring.

3. If organisms
share homologous
structures what
does that suggest
about them?
Camouflage
Insect Resistance to Pesticides
Similar to bacteria and antibiotics, insect pests can become
resistant to pesticides.
Fossil Evidence For Evolution

Comparative Anatomy
Examining structures for determine similarities and differences
Similar structural features with a common
Homologous ancestor….supports relatedness….exp. common bones
Structure
Analogous
Structure
Vestigial
Structure
SUMMARY:
Similar functions but not representing common
ancestor…..not relatedness….exp. flying requires wings
A body structure in a present day organism that no
longer serves a purpose but once did in ancestors …exp.
appendix
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BELLRINGER:
Essential Questions:
1. Give examples of
comparative
embryology and
biochemistry in
fossils.

Examining embryos and
development to determine
similarities and differences.
Similar development suggest
relatedness to a common
ancestor.

2. Comparing DNA
and amino acids is
the “best” way to
determine
relatedness.
Explain.
Comparative Embryology
Comparative Biochemistry
Examining DNA, enzymes, amino
acids, biochemical molecules, to
determine similarities and
differences. Similar biochemistry
suggest relatedness to a common
ancestor.
Changes in genetic equilibrium
3. What can cause
changes in genetic
equilibrium?
Natural selection acts on a
population. Those with the most
desirable traits live, reproduce, and
pass of those desirable traits. Those
without die and don’t pass on those
undesirable traits.

Mutations
Any change in the DNA …can be adaptive or maladaptive…..must
occur in the sex cells to be inherited and passed to offspring.

Genetic Drift
The frequency of a gene in a population. Adaptive genes should
increase in population and maladaptive decrease. Why?

Gene Flow (Migration)
The movement of organisms in and out of a population.
SUMMARY:
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BELLRINGER:
Essential Questions:
Speciation
1. Describe factors
resulting in
speciation.
2. Compare and
contrast gradualism
with punctuated
equilibrium.
3. Explain why
organisms like
bacteria can evolve
quickly?
The evolution of a new species
due to the accumulation of
mutations and/or variations
from sexual reproduction. A new
species can no longer breed with
the previous species.
Factors Causing Speciation

Geographic Isolation
A physical barrier….natural or manmade…like a river, mountain, or
road….that divides a population
preventing reproduction with one
another.

Reproductive Isolation
The result of isolation of a species when former breeding
organisms can no longer successfully breed and produce
offspring….usually due to geographic isolation.
Speciation Rates

Gradualism
The idea that species evolve slowly
and accumulate small changes over
time.

Punctuated Equilibrium
The idea that species have sudden
bursts of evolutionary change followed by equilibrium where
there is no change…often due to changes in environment.
SUMMARY:
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BELLRINGER:
Essential Questions:
Adaptive Radiation
1. Discuss the
environmental
conditions that
could have resulted
in the finch’s
adaptive radiation.
When an ancestral species evolves into an array of species to fit
a number of diverse habitats/niches.
2. Explain variation,
competition, and
adaptation in
reference to the
finches.

Name two finches from the diagram above that would compete and explain why?
(Answers will vary) For example the large cactus finch and the
cactus finch because they eat the same food type.
3. What other
resources besides
food could be
limiting a
population?

Name two finches from the diagram above that could coexist and explain why?
(Answers will vary) For example the small ground finch and the
warbler finch because they eat different food types.

Name another finch that would be negatively affected if more large ground
finches populated the area and explain why.
(Answers will vary) The medium ground finch because they eat
the same food type.
SUMMARY:
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BELLRINGER:
Essential Questions:
1. What
adaptations evolved
from primates to
humans?
2. What is the
closest common
ancestor to modern
humans? How do
we know?
Primate Adaptation and Evolution
What is a Primate
A group of mammals
with similar anatomy
and DNA; includes the
lemurs, monkeys,
apes, and human.
Primate Origins – Evidence of a shared evolutionary origin
Comparing similarities among
many primates suggest that
they have a common ancestor.
Scientists look at fossils for
anatomy, DNA (biochemistry),
embryology, etc.
Humanlike primates evolve
3. Out of Africa
theory?
Anthropoids (ape-human like),
Hominoids (more human like)
Hominoids evolved in Asia and Africa
Global environmental changes
created changes in vegetation
and our ancestors were
favored to be adapted on land
and not in trees. We were
more “fit” for land and now
had an advantage!
SUMMARY:
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BELLRINGER:
Essential Questions:
Human Ancestry
1. Identify the
structural evidence
of the major
anatomical changes
in human evolution.
2. What skeletal
evidence would
suggest an organism
was bipedal?
What is a hominoid, hominid?
5-8 million years ago in Africa
Hominoid primates can walk upright on two legs-bipedal….an
advantage for life on land.
Hominid include these bipedal primates ….modern day humans
and our direct ancestors.
3. What advantages
are there for being
bipedal?
SUMMARY:
What is so important about the “Taung
child” Fossil?
2.5-2.8 million years ago was
found similar to an ape body
but with a skull (brain) more
similar to present day human.
It is considered the line
between apes and human
ancestry!
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BELLRINGER:
Essential Questions:
1. What types of
fossil evidence do
scientists look at
when trying to piece
together our
ancestry?
2. What role did
mutations have in
our ancestry?
The Emergence of Modern Humans
The genus Homo – the stone tool makers

Homo habilis
1.5-2.5 million years ago, earliest hominid to make and use stone
tools, bipedal scavenger.

3. Where is our
evolution heading?
Homo ergaster
1.5-1.8 million years ago

Homo erectus
1.5-1.8 million years ago, upright man, larger brain and more
human like but still apelike jaw. Migrated from Africa to Asia
and Europe.

Homo heidelbergensis
Thought to be one of the direct ancestors of modern human
(from Germany/Europe).

Homo sapiens (Neanderthals, Cro-Magnons, us)
Modern humans appeared in Europe, Africa, and Asia 100,000500,000 years ago.
SUMMARY:
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BELLRINGER:
Essential Questions: What is Phylogeny
1. Explain why
comparative
biochemistry is the
most accurate at
determining
ancestry and
relatedness among
organisms?
The system of classifying organisms based on their evolutionary
history…shows relatedness.

Cladogram
A branching diagram that shows relatedness and ancestry.
2. If two organisms
share very similar
DNA sequences how
would they be
represented on a
cladogram?

Based on the cladogram above answer the following questions:
1. Explain how you know the chimp is more closely related to the mouse than
any other organism in this cladogram.
The common ancestor of the chimp and mouse is closer together
than any other organism on the cladogram.
3. Discuss and draw
what an extinct
species may look
like on a cladogram.
2. Circle on the cladogram the closest common ancestor of the pigeon and perch.
(on the diagram)
3. Give some characteristics that the lizard shares with the salamander.
Jaws, lungs
4. What biochemical molecule represents the drawing of the lines and
determines relatedness?
DNA
SUMMARY: