PMDC weightage ( BIO )
Evolution ( Topics )
Evolution
Number of mcqs in past papers from each topic
Concept of Evolution ( 4 )
Origin of Eukaryotes from Prokaryotes ( 5 )
Lamarckism ( 5 )
Darwin’s beagle voyage ( 3 )
Darwin’s theory of natural selection ( 4 )
BTB ( Color code )
FTB ( Color code )
KPK ( Color code)
PTB ( Color code )
STB ( Color code )
Priority:
1) Strictly PMDC syllabus
2) A lot of question practise
Darwinism ( Past paper )
Which statement is not correct for Darwin’s theory of natural
selection?
A) Survival in the struggle for existence is random
B) The fit individuals leave more offspring into their
environment
C) Survival of the fittest was coined by Herbert spencer
D) More production of individuals than environment can
support
Concept of Evolution
Which of the following statements is consistent with the concept
of natural selection but not with special creation?
A. Species are immutable and unchanging.
B. Fossils show gradual transitions between forms.
C. Each species was designed for a specific purpose.
D. All organisms were created at the same time.
Evolution:
The process by which populations of organisms change over generations through variations in traits
that are inherited, leading to the development of new species over time.
Processes: Earliest forms ---- Vast diversity ( Observable ).
Narrow definition: Change in genetic composition from population to population.
Descent with modifications ( Darwin ).
Transformation of mode and existence in a manner than ancestors differ from ancestors.
Concepts of Evolution
Scala natura
Continental Drift
Aristotle Organic evolution
A theory that
Every step of ladder is The process where life on Earth
proposes the
specific for specific changes over generations
continents on Earth
species
have moved and
continue to move over
geological time
Cuvier ( 1769 - 1832 )
Theory of catastrophism (
Destruction at large scale )
Dinosaurs - dead through it
Louis Agassiz ( 1807 - 1873 )
Science of palaentology
New creation after each
catastrophism. Suarez ( 1548 - 1613 )
Creationist
Lamarck ( 1744 - 1829 )
Special creation
Evolution: Inheritance of
aquired characteritics.
Role of Scientists Carlous Linneaus ( 1707 - 1778 )
Creationist
Malthus ( 1766 - 1834 ) Binomial nomenclature
Essay: Principles of population Taxonomy ( Classification of orgs )
James Hutton ( 1726 - 1797 )
Uniformitarianism
Charles lyell ( 1797 - 1875 )
Small, gradual changes can result in
Uniformitarianism
significant transformations over long
Principles of Geology
periods.
Geological processes today can explain
ancient geological formations.
Theories of
Evolutionists Creationists
Evolution ( Divine creations )
Life on Earth: Idea of creationism
3.5B years ( Unchallenged for 2K years )
Earth’s age: Everything in the universe:
5B years created in 6 days
Prokaryotes - Eukaryotes
( 1.9 - 2.1 B years ) Man: 6th Day
No concept of
Fittest Organism
fittest organism
Recall
Which of the following is not a mechanism of evolution?
A. Natural selection
B. Genetic drift
C. Mutation
D. Photosynthesis
Recall
Which of the following is not an assumption of special creation?
A. Species do not change over time.
B. All life was created simultaneously.
C. Earth is billions of years old.
D. Each species is uniquely designed.
Recall
How does natural selection explain the presence of similar traits
in related species?
A. They were created with those traits to fulfill a divine plan.
B. They inherited traits from a common ancestor.
C. The environment imposed identical traits randomly.
D. The traits were acquired during the organism’s lifetime.
Conversion of reducing to oxidizing environment:
No O2
H from H2S
Reducing environment
( Chemosynthetic autotrophs ) UV radiations
Supports Abiogenesis
( the origin of life from nonliving matter )
O2 liberation
H from H2O Oxidizing environment
( Photosynthetic autotrophs )
O3
( 420M years ago )
Refutes abiogenesis
Evolution of eukaryotes from prokaryotes:
Beginning of life ( Hydrothermal vents ) Endosymbiosis:
1st hydrothermal vent = 1977 ( Pacific
ocean ) Prokaryotes ( 3.5 Billion years ago )
Archeobacteria ( 120* ) Eukaryotes ( 1.5 Billion years ago )
Formation of eukaryotic cell: Dramatic Chloroplasts, Mitochondria
increase in complexity.
Own DNA, RNA, Ribosomes
Endomembrane hypothesis:
Divide by binary fission
Inner membrane: Prokaryotic characteristics
Humans: 50% with banana
Outer membrane: Eukaryotic characteristics
Humans: 31% with yeast
Duplication of genetic material
Enclosure of genetic material
Recall
Eukaryotic cells differ from prokaryotic cells because they:
A. Lack DNA
B. Have membrane-bound organelles
C. Do not have a nucleus
D. Are always unicellular
Recall
Why was the engulfing of aerobic bacteria by ancestral cells
advantageous?
A. It allowed for photosynthesis
B. It provided the cell with additional DNA
C. It enabled more efficient energy (ATP) production
D. It led to sexual reproduction
Lamarckism
No experimental proof.
Pictures evolution as ladder of
Weissman mice experiment - 68 mice
life
2 basic assumptions Changes obtained through accident are
Simple - most complex not heritable.
Use and disuse of organs
Man - top rung Ear lobe holes are not heritable.
Inheritance of acquired
Little in explaining origin of
characteristics
ladder
Examples
Extinction of limbs in snakes Flightless birds Blacksmith - bigger biceps
Evolved from lizzard like ancestors Ancestors of birds such as Ostrich Giraffe stretching its neck
Lived in small holes and crevices were able to fly
Loss of limbs Environmental changes
A lot of food
Protection
Disuse of wings
Vestigial wings
Recall
Children of mason do not inherit strong muscles developed by
father due to hard labour. This is an example of:
A) Use of organs
B) Disuse of organs
C) Inheritance of acquired characteristics
D) None of these
Darwin’s Beagle Voyage
Father of evolution Descent with modification
Born on: Feb 12, 1809 Naturalist ( Professor Henslow ) Backbone of theory of evol
Shrewsbury ( Western England ) Beagle
Cambridge = Graduation Mission: Expanding navy knowledge of
natural resources.
Cruised along east and west coasts of
South America.
Thousands of flora and fauna species
Darwin’s Beagle Voyage
Return: Great Britain in 1836
Perceived:
Geographical barriers
‘Origin of new species and
adaptations as closely related
processes’
Darwinism
Overproduction Survival of the fittest
Struggle for existence Speciation
Variations
Application
Which philosopher and sociologist, after reading Charles Darwin’s
work on evolution, first introduced the phrase "survival of the
fittest" in his own writings to describe the process by which
individuals best adapted to their environment are more likely to
survive and reproduce— a term that was later adopted by Darwin
himself in later editions of On the Origin of Species?
A. Charles Darwin
B. Alfred Russel Wallace
C. Herbert Spencer
D. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Application
A population of giraffes originally had short necks. Over many
generations, only those with slightly longer necks could reach
leaves and survived to reproduce. Eventually, the whole
population had long necks. Which theory does this scenario
support?
A. Lamarckism – inheritance of acquired traits
B. Darwinism – natural selection of advantageous traits
C. Both theories equally
D. Mutation theory
Application
In a population of beetles, birds prefer to eat the brighter-colored
beetles. Over time, the population becomes mostly dark-colored.
What principle is being applied here?
A. Use and disuse of organs
B. Inheritance of acquired characteristics
C. Survival of the fittest through natural selection
D. Hybridization of species
Application
A scientist cuts the tails off mice and breeds them. The offspring
are born with normal tails. What does this experiment disprove?
A. Darwin’s theory of variation
B. Lamarck’s theory of acquired characteristics
C. Natural selection
D. Mutation theory
Something to learn from Darwin..