Evolution Biology Study Questions

Evolution Biology Study Questions

2. Early Evolutionary Ideas Study Guide

Although Anaximander’s model of the solar system was wrong, in what ways did his proposal have merit?

What is empiricism, or the ’empirical approach’?

Define methodological naturalism. Note how empiricism & methodological naturalism are the foundation of the scientific method.

How did Aristotle contribute to the emergence of the scientific method?

How did Aristotle classify organisms?

The ‘Scala Naturae’ is also called….

What is…. teleology, catastrophism, uniformitariansim, the Law of Superposition, the Law of Succession, and Transmutation?

What contributions to geology were made by: Cuvier, Hutton, Lyell?

I mentioned two major points about how Cuvier influenced the science of geology. What were they? (One idea of his was wrong. The other was right).

What were the contributions of C. Linnaeus, William Paley?

List the hierarchy of how we classify organisms today (“KPCOFGS”).

Some other terms: archetype, homology, natural theology, vestigial organs, inheritance of acquired characters.

You learned the two major theories of Jean Lamarck. One on ‘inheritance of acquired characteristics’, and the other on the progressive history of life. I frequently ask a major written question about these, so…

a. Describe these two theories. b. Tell me their ‘explanatory powers’. c. Tell me why they ultimately failed.

3. Darwin’s Insight Study Guide

Who else besides Darwin is well known to have proposed evolution by ‘natural selection’?

Why do we tend to give Darwin the most credit for this theory? Give more than one reason.

What were Darwins’ plans for his life before his voyage on the Beagle?

During Darwin’s voyage, South America ‘prepared’ him for eventually appreciating what he saw in the Galapagos islands. Why?

What was it about the islands (their origin) and the species on the Galapagos that made it clear that populations evolve to suit their environment AND new species come from other species under isolation? Did Darwin realize all of this immediately?

Describe the… marine iguana, tortoises, finches, and the cormorants on the Galapagos. What are the adaptations of each that informed Darwin that they had changed once they were on the islands?

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From the video about Darwin’s Mockingbirds, summarize what was important about these birds to Darwin personally.

For his first big collecting trip, Wallace went to South America. What happened to all his efforts? To answer that, see the video in Moodle about Wallace.

What did Wallace see in Asia to help him see the ‘origin of species’?

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What is the ‘Wallace line’?

How did Darwin find out that Wallace had independently developed the same theory of evolution?

How did Thomas Malthus wind up contributing to the theory?

How was the Darwin-Wallace theory of evolution by natural selection 1st announced to the world, and how did that work out?

Once again, go over the main steps of evolution by natural selection, and define it. Why is this theory ‘good science’?

During evolution by natural selection, what happens to individuals that are selected ‘against’? How about those who are selected ‘for’? [Remember: it is best to refer to reproduction].

Once again, define evolution by natural selection. Be sure to not just define ‘evolution’. That will have a different answer.

Contrast natural selection with artificial selection. What is the ‘selective agent’ for for artificial selection? What is the ‘selective agent’ for natural selection?

In the short term, generation by generation, natural selection is a sorting or ‘filtering process’, but older theories tended to view evolution as a ‘transformational’ process. Explain how these are different.

Birds known as swallows have long, narrow wings for swift and maneuverable flight. A flying insect is in trouble with a swallow chasing them. Suppose natural selection is selecting for swallows to have longer wings. When do varieties of swallows with slightly longer wings first turn up in this process? Would there also be swallows with shorter wings as well?

How could the short term ‘filtering process’ of natural selection eventually lead to swallows with really really long wings — longer than any swallows alive today?

For a population of one species to form 2 or more separate species, what must generally first happen to the population?

The range of the Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) is the eastern half of the United States. What would be predicted about the location of its closest related species?

Evolution was / was not widely accepted by scientists before Darwin. Pick one.

Evolution by natural selection was / was not widely accepted by scientists before Darwin. Pick one.

Early perceived problems with evolution by natural selection were: blending of inherited traits, the origin of complexity, the origin of new structures, and the age of the earth. Lets address each of these problems.

— Why would blending inheritance be seen as a problem for ev. by natural selection? How was this problem resolved?

— If natural selection can only produce small, incremental change, how can it ever lead to great change, producing complex structures?

— If natural selection can only produce small, incremental change (and it must draw from what already exists, how can ever produce anything new?

Mosquitoes have a long proboscis made of tiny, scissor like blades that pierces skin and sucks blood. They also inject an anticoagulant to reduce blood clotting as well. Many millions of years ago, the ancestors of mosquitoes did not have a piercing proboscis, nor anticoagulant. So how can evolution, which must modify traits that already exist, ever make the blood sucking mosquito?

What is exaptation? For example, 4-legged vertebrates evolved from fish with fins. So fins evolved –> legs. For this to work, it is important to realize that fins can be used for walking, albeit poorly. Use this key detail to describe how fins evolved into legs by slow, gradual change.

A follow up: What if fins were never used for walking? Could evolution by natural selection work with that to make walking legs?

— The final problem we discussed for the Darwins/Wallace theory in their time: what was the estimated age of the earth in their time? Who gave that estimate, and how was it done? Why was this estimate a problem for general applicability of the theory? How was this resolved? What is the actual likely age of the earth?

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