Name: ________________________
Period: __________
Date: _____________
Finals Study Guide – Day 3 of 4: Evolution, Extinction, and Succession Questions
Define the following terms:
Term
Evolution
Biological
Evolution
Gene Pool
Gene
Mutation
Migration /
Gene Flow
Genetic Drift
Natural Selection
Heritable
Fitness
Adaptation
Artificial
Selection
Ecological
Succession
Disturbance
Primary
Succession
Pioneer Species
Secondary
Succession
Definition
Name: ________________________
Period: __________
Date: _____________
Climax
Community
1. List and EXPLAIN the four different mechanisms that can change a creature’s genes:
a. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
b. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
c. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
d. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What does the term survival of the fittest mean? ________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Why do creatures often become extinct over a long enough period of time? ___________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. If creatures are able to adapt to their surroundings over a long period of time, why is it that
sometimes creatures go extinct very rapidly? _____________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. Explain the relationship between an organism’s fitness and their adaptations: ______________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Explain how carrots have been an example of artificial selection: ____________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
7. What are at least four causes for Earth’s mass-extinction events? ______________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
8. What are some types of events that would trigger a region to undergo primary succession? _______
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
9. What are some types of events that would trigger a region to undergo secondary succession? ____
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Name: ________________________
Period: __________
Date: _____________
10. What is the major difference between primary and secondary succession? ____________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
11. What makes a pioneer species so well-suited for jump-starting the erosion/soil-making process in
an area? _______________________________________________________________________________________________________
12. If a forest fire completely destroys the plant and animal life in a forest, what kind of succession
will eventually start restoring it? _________________________________________________________
13. Primary succession almost always begins with:
a. Hard soil
b. Bare rock
c. Dry lake bottoms
d. Burned out forest
14. Why might cutting down trees trigger secondary succession, but cutting and burning down
trees and their stumps trigger secondary succession? _________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
15. What are the factors that would control which types of creatures form an area’s climax
community? __________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
16. Great Horned Owls are very difficult to find in the wild because they blend into their surroundings.
Is this a result of natural selection or artificial selection? Explain your response. _____________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________