EVOLUTION STUDY GUIDE
Part 1: Vocabulary Review: Match each term to its definition.
1. _____ the process by which different kinds of
living organisms have changed over time
A. cladogram
2. _____ mechanism by which individuals have
inherited beneficial adaptations and can
B. variation
produce more offspring C. speciation
3. _____ all of the individuals of a species that live in D. adaptation
the same area E. evolution
4. _____ differences in physical traits of an individual F. fossil
within a population G. vestigial
5. _____ a body part that is similar in structure on H. homologous structure
different organisms but performs different
I. analogous structure
functions
6. _____ the branch of biology that studies the early J. population
development of a species; evidence of evolution K. species
7. _____ a diagram that displays proposed L. embryology
evolutionary relationships among a group of M. gene flow
species N. natural selection
8. _____ evolution of two or more species from one O. gradualism
ancestral species
P. punctuated
9. _____ an inherited trait that allows an organism to
better survive in its environment
equilibrium
10. _____ remains of an organism that lived in the Q. convergent evolution
past R. genetic drift
11. _____ a structure that has no apparent function; S. Hardy Weinberg
evidence of evolution Principle
12. _____ a model of evolution that speciation occurs T. genetic equilibrium
slowly, over long periods of time U. divergent evolution
13. _____ a body part that is similar in function to a
body part of another organism but is structurally
different; not the same evolutionary origin
14. _____ group of organisms that can breed and
15. produce
_____ physical
fertilemovement
offspring of alleles from one population to another
16. _____ theory that states that speciation occurs suddenly and rapidly followed by
long periods of little evolutionary change
17. _____ pattern of evolution of one or more closely related species into different
species; resulting from adaptations to different environmental conditions
18. _____ the process where distantly related organisms evolve similar traits
19. _____change in allele frequencies due to chance occurrences
20. _____ the state in which the frequency of alleles in a population stays constant
21. _____ states that genetic equilibrium will be reached when certain conditions are
met
What You Should Know
Part 2: Study this information.
Evolution- species change over time due to changes in allele frequencies of a population
• Individuals do not change, populations do!
• An adaptation is something that helps you eat or avoid being eaten
• A gene pool includes all the alleles in a given population
***not all are expressed – recessive alleles are masked in the heterozygous form
A. History of the Theory
a. Lamarck- acquired characteristics (giraffes)
b. Wallace- natural selection (competition)
c. Darwin- natural selection (reproductive success)
B. History of Life (biodiversity, ancestry, and rates)
a. Endosymbiotic theory – attempts to explain how eukaryotes arose from prokaryotes
i. One prokaryote engulfed (but didn’t digest) another prokaryote.
ii. Evidence – Mitochondria & chloroplasts reproduce like bacteria.
b. Biodiversity- Life started simple and became more complex over time.
c. Macroevolutionary Patterns
i. divergent evolution – Species diverged in different environments.
1. results in homologous/vestigial structures
2. DOES suggest a recent common ancestor
ii. convergent evolution – Species converged because of shared environments.
1. results in analogous structures
2. does NOT suggest a recent common ancestor
iii. co-evolution – Species evolve in response to each other.
1. predator/prey, flowers/pollinators, etc.
d. Rate of Evolution
i. gradualism – slow, gradual change
ii. punctuated equilibrium – long periods of stability followed by brief periods of rapid
change due to chance events
C. Evidence of Evolution
a. Fossil Record
i. dating fossils –
1. relative dating – estimates a fossil’s age
2. radioactive (C-14) dating – calculates a fossil’s precise age
b. Embryology
i. Vertebrate embryos begin development similarly (suggests common ancestry).
c. Comparative Anatomy-
i. analogous structures
1. different form; similar function
2. does NOT suggest a common ancestor, only a common environment
ii. homologous structures
1. same form; different function
2. suggests a common ancestor
iii. vestigial structures
1. no longer serve a purpose
2. suggest a common ancestor
d. Molecular- DNA and/or protein sequence similarities
i. the more closely related, the fewer number of differences in the DNA
D. Mechanisms of Evolution (aka how allele frequencies change in a population)
a. Natural Selection
i. changes in allele frequencies in a population due to the impact of the organism’s
ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment
ii. best adapted traits can change if the environment changes
b. Mutations
i. The only way that brand-new alleles are introduced in a population.
ii. Mutations are RANDOM!
iii. Helpful mutations become more common in the population.
c. Gene Flow – migration
i. immigration – individuals enter a population
ii. emigration – individuals leave a population
d. Genetic Drift
i. RANDOM changes in allele frequencies due to CHANCE events
ii. does not necessarily favor the best adapted
E. Natural Selection in Populations- The process by which organisms with favorable traits are most likely to
survive and reproduce.
a. Requires
i. variation - differences in physical traits
ii. increased fitness (an adaptation gives an advantage)
iii. heritable traits - some are more useful to survival than others
F. Genetic Equilibrium - The state in which allele frequency in a population is constant.
a. The Hardy-Weinberg principle states that genetic equilibrium will be reached when certain
conditions are met.
i. population must be large
ii. no genetic drift
iii. no mutations
iv. no natural selection
v. no migration
b. Genetic equilibrium = NO EVOLUTION
G. Evolution and Biological Resistance
a. Initial resistance is due to a mutation.
i. Resistant individuals survive and reproduce.
ii. Offspring inherit the resistant gene.
iii. Resistance becomes more common in the population over time.
b. Applies to bacteria/antibiotics, viruses/vaccines, insects/pesticides, etc.
H. Classifying Organisms
a. Taxonomy
i. groups organisms based on similarities
ii. domain - largest group in modern classification (bacteria, eukarya, archaea)
iii. 7 levels: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
b. Phylogeny
i. groups organisms based on evolutionary relatedness
ii. cladograms and phylogenetic trees
-used to trace evolutionary relationship
-The closer the organisms are on branches, the more recently they shared a
common ancestor.
Unit Review Questions
Part 3: Use the information from part 2 to answer the following questions.
1. Explain the four principles of natural selection.
2. How does genetic diversity benefit a population?
3. List the different factors that contribute to genetic variation. (Note: You may need
to pull from our genetics unit to fully answer this question.)
4. Explain what is meant by the phrase, “Individuals don’t evolve, populations do.”
5. Describe each of the 5 “mechanisms of evolution” discussed in this unit.
Unit Review Questions
6. List the 5 conditions that must be met for a population to be in genetic equilibrium,
meaning evolution is NOT occurring.
7. What is the difference between speciation and extinction.
8. Explain the difference between gradualism and punctuated equilibrium.
9. What is the difference between divergent and convergent evolution. Include an
example of each in your explanation.
10. What are the different evidences of evolution? How does each provide evidence
of evolution?
11. Explain the differences between homologous, analogous, and vestigial structures.
Unit Review Questions
12. What does the endosymbiotic theory state?
13. How are taxonomy and phylogeny similar? How are they different?
14. What are the 3 domains of life?
15. What are the 7 components of the Linnaean classification system?
16. Complete the table below by placing an X in the cells of organisms that have the
characteristics listed. Then, create a cladogram that showcase the information from
the table.