(D)evil Evolution Review Questions

1. (D)evil Evolution Review Questions

2. Which scientist contributed to Darwin’s observation that too many organisms are produced in nature to be sustained? • Knowing and understanding scientific theories, would you say that natural selection can be quite different 100 years from now? Explain. • How did Darwin apply Lyell’s principles? • If you believe that learning a new language will help your children to learn new languages as well, what evolutionary idea do you use? By whom?

3. The picture below shows a group of finches living on the Galapagos islands. They all originated from the same ancestor species. Provide a potential explanation for their differences. • What evolutionary theory is used here?

4. List the five aspects of natural selection. • Describe how overpopulation and heritable variation relate to evolution by natural selection. • Analyze the graph below, relate it to natural selection:

5. Differentiate between a scientific theory and a theory in the common use of the term. • How did Lamarck contribute to the theory of evolution? • How did Darwin contribute to the theory of evolution? • List 5 evidence that supports the theory of evolution and describe how molecular evidence can be used to support evolution. • Differentiate between homology and analogy.

6. Understanding Evolution: Problem-based discussion Natural selection in Darwin’s finches 1) What characteristics of the graphs show that there was variation in the population? How much variation was in the population in 1976? How much variation was in the population in 1978? 2) What happened to the population size between 1976 and 1978? What other changes occurred in the population? 3) Based on the data, what is the approximate average beak depth of the population in each year? Ribozyme structure comes from Scott, W.G., Finch, J.T., Klug, A. (1995) The crystal structure of an all-RNA hammerhead ribozyme: a proposed mechanism for RNA catalytic cleavage. Cell 81: 991-1002

7. Understanding Evolution: Problem-based discussion Natural selection in Darwin’s finches 4) Based on these limited data, which mode of selection seems to have operated on the finches? What evidence supports this idea? – AP only 5) What do you hypothesize could have caused this change between 1976 and 1978? Describe a possible ecological relationship between drought and beak size. 6) Assume the drought continues for another 2 years,. If natural selection is occurring, what would you expect to see in future generations? If the changes in beak size are not due to natural selection, but to drift, then what would you expect to see in future generations? Ribozyme structure comes from Scott, W.G., Finch, J.T., Klug, A. (1995) The crystal structure of an all-RNA hammerhead ribozyme: a proposed mechanism for RNA catalytic cleavage. Cell 81: 991-1002

8. Analyze the data in the table below:

9. List three mechanisms of evolution and explain how one of these can change the genetic makeup of a population. • Differentiate between sexual selection and natural selection. • List three examples of evolution and explain how one proves that evolution is a process that takes place at any given time in the history of life. • Define natural selection as we see it today.