Exam 16: An Introduction to Evolution: Charles Darwin, evolutionary Thought, and the Evidence for Evolution

What determines which traits will be passed on to the next generation in the greatest frequency?

After considerable effort,you are able to collect and analyze DNA from the winged animal.You obtain the nucleotide sequence of the cytochrome c oxidase gene.When you compare this sequence to the sequence of the same gene in a bat,a rodent,a shrew,and a human,you find the following numbers of differences: winged animal-bat 11 differences Winged animal-rodent 14 differences Winged animal-shrew 15 differences Winged animal-human 9 differences Which hypothesis does this data support?

Darwin found that many different species of finches were found on the Galapagos Islands and nowhere else.The finches were related to a species found on the mainland of South America.From this he concluded:

The theory of natural selection states that:

The limbs of animals such as whales,cats,bats,and humans contain the same set of bones organized in similar ways yet have dissimilar functions.These structures are said to be:

In science,theories are well established and thus are not "theoretical" in the everyday usage of the word.

Evolution can be used to explain all of the following except:

The use of radioactive elements to date geological specimens is called ________.

Refer to the scenario below and then answer the following question(s). In a fossil bed, you discover the preserved bones of a winged animal mixed in with the bones of small rodents. The small rodents are known from other fossils to have lived about two million years ago, but they are now extinct. -You examine the fossilized remains of the winged animal.Impressions in the surrounding rock suggest that the wings may have been covered with tiny hairs,which suggests that the animal is likely to have been a mammal.When you examine the remains of the wings,which of the following observations would be most surprising?

Refer to the figure below, and then answer the question that follows. -There are fewer differences in the base sequence of the cytochrome c oxidase gene between humans and chimpanzees than there are between humans and pigs.What evolutionary relationship can you hypothesize from this?

The most important concept that Charles Darwin brought to the discussion of evolution was that natural selection was the driving force behind the change that occurred in organisms over time.

Male guppies that have colorful spots on them are chosen more often by female guppies for mating.Males can have from one to six spots.The more spots they have the more females are attracted to them.However,bright spots also make the males more vulnerable to predators.In a pond with predators,male guppies have an average of 3.2 spots.Predict what would happen to the average spot number on the males over the generations if you removed all predators from the pond.Using natural selection,explain your answer.

Many commercial pesticides become less effective after two to three years because:

Comparison of gene sequences among species has revealed:

Who believed that species evolve by passing acquired characteristics to offspring?

The major weakness of Charles Darwin's theory during his lifetime was the:

Both Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace were influenced by Thomas Malthus's writings on:

Charles Lyell's publication on human population growth was important to Charles Darwin developing the theory of evolution.

What mechanism did Charles Darwin discover as the driving force behind evolution?

A well-known example of natural selection in action is the change in the peppered moth population in England in the nineteenth century.The moths blended in with their light-colored natural surroundings,but with increasing industrialization in England,smoke began to pollute the foliage and darken the trees and rocks.Eventually,populations that were once mostly light colored became mostly dark colored.Using natural selection,propose a hypothesis that would explain why the moth population changed over time from mostly light colored to mostly dark colored.