Pre-AP Biology Evolution Test Review

1. Use the finches and the tortoises of the Galapagos Islands to

explain why Darwin thought they came from a common
ancestor.

a. The tortoises varied in predictable ways from one island to

another in shell size and structure. The finches had differently
shaped beaks and didn’t look alike, but once he realized they
were all finches, he proposed that natural selection shaped the
beaks of different bird populations as they adapted to eat
different foods.

2. Many students along with Lamarck like to say, “The animals

that adapt to their environment best survive!” Why is this
statement inaccurate? This statement is inaccurate because it
implies that organisms somehow have a choice in their traits and could
change to fit the environment, but adaptations occur in populations,
not individuals. He implied that acquired characteristics are inherited,
but they are not. Lamarck thought that acquired traits could be
acquired through reproduction. An organism’s behavior has no effect
on its heritable characteristics.

3. What is the difference between inherited traits and acquired

traits? Which type is significant to the process of evolution?
Why? Acquired traits cannot be passed on genetically. They are
learned after the birth of the individual. Inherited traits come from the
parent or another ancestor, and were not chosen by the individual.
Inherited traits get passed down in the generations, thus being
significant to evolution. Acquired traits may help an individual, but not
its offspring.

4. Define evolution. Evolution is the change in the relative frequency of

alleles in a population. Change in a kind of organism over time; process
by which modern organisms have descended from ancient organisms
5. Describe the process of natural selection. What are the 4
parts?

i. The struggle for resources will favor individuals with

certain variations and will change the frequency of traits in
the population. It must possess heritable variation and
offer an advantage.

b. Genetic Variation. Organisms exhibit individual variation in

appearance and behavior. Variation in heritable traits.

c. Struggle for Existence. Some traits are consistently passed on to

offspring, whereas others are influenced by environmental
conditions and may show weak heritability.

d. Overproduction of offspring. Most produce more than can

survive, leading to a struggle for resources.

e. Differential reproductive success. Individuals with traits well

suited for the struggle for resources will survive and produce
more offspring for the next generation.

6. How are “fitness” and “survival of the fittest” related?

a. An organism’s fitness is the ability of an individual to survive and

reproduce in its environment. Each has its advantages and
disadvantages. Individuals with characteristics not well suited to
their environment, or with low fitness, will die or leave few
offspring. Individuals better suited to their environment, or with
high fitness, wills survive and reproduce most successfully. This
is survival of the fittest.

7. Explain the main ideas that contributed to Darwin’s Theory of

Evolution.

a. Individual organisms differ, and some of this variation is

heritable.
 b. Organisms produce more offspring than can survive, and many
that survive don’t reproduce.

c. Because more organisms are produced than can survive, they

compete for limited resources.

d. Each organism has advantages + disadvantages in the struggle

for existence. Individuals with highest fitness survive and
reproduce most successfully. They pass their traits to offspring,
while others die and leave fewer offspring. This process of
natural selection causes species to change over time.

e. Species today are descended with modification from ancestral

species that lived in the distant past. This process, by which
diverse species evolved from common ancestors, unites all
organisms into a tree of life!

8. What is the gene pool? How does geographic isolation affect 2

population’s gene pools?

a. A gene pool is the complete set of alleles in a population.

Geographic isolation of two populations creates reproductive
isolation, thus becoming unable to interbreed or producing
infertile offspring. At that point, the populations have separate
gene pools. They respond to natural selection and genetic drift
as different units.

9. Describe how the evidence of evolution suggests organisms

came from a common ancestor. (Include homologous and
vestigial structures, analogous structures, embryonic
similarities, fossil data, DNA and protein similarities)

a. Homologous structures – Structures with different

appearances and functions that all derived from the same
embryonic tissues in a common ancestor. All four-limved
vertebrates have descended with modifications from common
ancestors. Each limb has adapted in ways that enable organisms
to survive in different environments.
b. Vestigial structures – Organs that serve no useful function,
but are homologous to organs that are useful in other species.
Organisms with vestigial organisms share a common ancestry
with organisms that have the homologous structure and/or it is
functional. It does not affect the ability to survive and reproduce.

c. Analogous structures – They serve the same function but have

evolved independently. This shows evolution because they have
adapted through natural selection to fit their environment.

d. Embryology – Many animals look similar when they are

embryos and contain similar traits. This shows that they came
from a common ancestor. Remains of ancestral traits appear and
disappear. The same groups of embryonic cells develop in the
same order and in similar patterns to produce the tissues and
organs of all vertebrates, producing homologous structures.

e. Fossil data – Fossil evidence shows that over time, species of

increasing complexity appeared, with modifications of older
organisms. This supports evolution. Fossils showed change in
size, shapes, etc. in species over time.

f. Dna – Species that share a common ancestor will have inherited

the common ancestor’s DNA sequence. Therefore, more closely
related species will have more similar DNA sequences, showing
that the species came from a common ancestor.
10. Compare diversity and variation. What are the 2 main
sources of genetic variation?

a. Diversity = all the different forms of genetic information.

b. Variation = Variation in alleles of genes.

c. Mutations from changes in DNA sequence and recombination

(gene shuffling) from sexual reproduction are the two main
sources of genetic variation.

11. What is a polygenic trait? How does natural selection

work for a polygenic trait? (stabilizing, directional, disruptive)

a. A polygenic trait has a phenotype that depends on alleles in

multiple genes.

b.

c. Directional: one extreme has the highest fitness

d. Stabilizing: the average has the highest fitness

e. Disruptive : Both extremes have higher fitness

12. Describe speciation using finches as an example.

a. The proximity of the Galapagos islands allowed the finches, from

South America, to migrate and distinct land populations to arise,
limiting interbreeding. This geographical isolation created
reproductive isolation, causing speciation. This occurred by the
founding of new populations coming from South Africa,
geographic isolation with more birds moving to another island,
gene pool changes when the birds on separate islands evolve
through natural selection for their own island, reproductive
isolation because they may not mate now, and ecological
competition, as both species compete for available seeds,
continuing to evolve and increase differences between them.