Evolution Test Review

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Evolution Test Review
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1. Give a definition for evolution. Why do
living things need to evolve?

• Definition species change over time
• As the environment changes, living things need to
  survive, so they must change as time goes on

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2. How are fossils dated?

• Radiometric/ Radiocarbon Dating measures the
  amount of radioactive isotopes in a fossil to
  determine its age
• Pro can give you the exact age of a fossil
• Con cant be used on really old fossils because
  the radioactivity goes away with time
• Relative Dating compares the age of a fossil to
  other fossils found in the same rock layer
• Pro can be used to give you an estimated age of
  really old fossils
• Con rock layers can be shifted by earthquakes or
  mudslides and this can give an inaccurate estimate

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3. How can we get evidence for evolution from the
fossil record?

• The fossil record shows us how living things have
  changed their forms over time

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4. What are homologous structures? Give an
example. How do they provide evidence for
evolution?

• Similar structures with different functions
• Example a humans arm and a bats wing
• Evidence they show that there was a common
  ancestor

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5. What are vestigial structures? Give an
example. How do they provide evidence for
evolution?

• Structures that no longer serve a purpose but had
  a purpose in an ancestor
• Example Tailbone in humans wings on flightless
  birds
• Evidence show how things change over time

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6. How does embryology (study of
embryos/development) provide evidence for
evolution?

• Similarities among embryos show a common ancestor

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7. Explain Charles Darwins discoveries (finches
and tortoises).

• Finches
• Darwin noticed that where there were nuts for
  food, the finches had short, hard beaks
• Where there was fruit and insects for food, the
  finches had long, thin beaks
• Tortoises
• Darwin noticed that where there was low
  vegetation, the tortoises had short legs and
  necks
• where there was high vegetation, the tortoises
  had long legs and necks

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8. What are adaptations? Give an example of an
adaptation

• Adaptation a beneficial change that allows an
  organism/species to survive
• Example thick fur on a rabbit that lives in the
  arctic

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9. How has the earth changed over time (timeline
events)?

• Earth changed and as it did, life evolved
• Earth was formed
• The first life appeared (single-celled)
• Oxygen appeared
• Plants and animals appeared (multicellular)

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10. How are humans similar to and different from
other organisms?

• Similar
• Mammals (hair, live birth, produce milk)
• Primates
• Skeletons have similarities (homologous
  structures)
• Different
• Written communication
• Opposable thumbs
• Walk upright
• Large brains

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11. What can we learn by studying cladograms?

• Cladograms show
• Shared traits
• The order the traits appeared in
• Probable relationships

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12. How do you read a cladogram?

• Reads from the bottom up
• Oldest/most common trait at the bottom
• Newest/least common trait at the top
• Each organism on the cladogram has all the traits
  below it

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13. What are the different taxonomic groups from
largest to smallest? What can classifying things
tell you about evolution?

• Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus,
  Species
• Classification can tell you how closely related
  two species are and how recently they shared a
  common ancestor the more of the above groupings
  they have in common, the more closely related
  they are

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14. What are the three domains and the kingdoms
that fit into each?

• Domain Bacteria
• Kingdom Eubacteria
• Domain Archaea
• Kingdom Archaebacteria
• Domain Eukarya
• Kingdom Animal
• Kingdom Plant
• Kingdom Protist
• Kingdom Fungi

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15. How do you use a dichotomous key? What can a
dichotomous key be used for?

• Read through each paired statement and answer yes
  or no and follow the instructions until you reach
  an identified object
• This key can be used to identify unknown objects.