Evolutionary Vocabulary

Approximately how old is the universe?

12-15 billion years old

Approximately how old is the earth?

4.5 billion years old

Approximately how old are the microfossils of prokaryotes?

3.6 billion years old

Approximately how old are photosynthetic bacteria?

2.3 billion years old

Approximately how old are eukaryotes?

1.8 billion years old

Approximately how old is the solar system?

4.6 billion years old

Which gases were present in Earth's early atmosphere?

1. CH4

2. NH3

3. CO

4. CO2

5. H2

6. N2

7. H2O

8. S

9. HCl

10. HCN

(Note: little to no O2)

As the earth cooled, gases condensed and formed a sea filled with what substances?

water and minerals

How was the "organic soup" of the early Earth formed?

1. inorganic compounds

2. energy from UV rays

3. energy from lightning

4. energy from heat

5. energy from radiation

What complex molecules were present in the early Earth's organic soup?

1. acetic acid

2. formaldehyde

3. amino acids

Which scientists proposed the organic soup theory?

Oparin & Haldane

According to the organic soup theory, which compound would have to be absent to form organic molecules?

oxygen

(Note: it is very reactive)

Oparin believed the early Earth's atmosphere was what kind of environment?

reducing

(Note: had ability to produce complex molecules)

Who tested Oparin's theory and produced organic molecules?

Stanley Miller

Miller and Urey sealed which molecules in a flask with simulated lightning to replicate the primordial Earth's environment?

1. ammonia

2. methane

3. water

4. hydrogen

Which substances were produced from the Miller and Urey experiment?

1. several organic

molecules

2. amino acids and

starting materials

(Note: no nucleic

acids were made)

How did simple monomers become polymers?

dehydration/condensation reactions

What are abiotically produced polypeptides?

proteinoids

What were the precursors of cells?

protobionts

What processes can protobionts undergo?

they are metabolically active but are unable to reproduce

What are experimentally (abiotically) produced protobionts that have some selectively permeable qualities?

1. microspheres/

liposomes

2. coacervates

(spontaneously formed

lipid or protein bilayer bubbles)

What are vesicle-like artifacts from reformed pieces of the endoplasmic reticulum if the cell is broken up?

microsomes

Which early organisms obtained energy by consuming other organic substances?

primitive heterotrophic prokaryotes

Which early organisms had the ability to produce their own food?

primitive autotrophic

prokaryotes

(Example:

cyanobacteria)

Which abiotic factor formed and ended abiotic chemical evolution?

ozone

What produced large amounts of oxygen in the primordial Earth?

photosynthetic activity of autotrophs

What factors formed the ozone layer?

UV light and oxygen

How did the energy needed for the abiotic synthesis of organic materials get blocked in the primordial Earth?

ozone layer absorbed

UV light

(Note: terminated primitive

cells and abiotic evolution)

What theory explains that eukaryotic cells originated mutually among prokaryotes?

endosymbiotic theory

Under the endosymbiotic theory, which eukaryotic structures were once free-living prokaryotes?

organelles like mitochondria

and chloroplasts

What are pieces of evidence that support the endosymbiotic theory?

1. chloroplast thylakoid membranes resemble cyanobacteria membranes

2. Mitochondria and chloroplasts have double membranes and also have their own circular DNA like prokaryotes

What organelle structures in chloroplasts and mitochondria resemble those of bacteria?

ribosomes

What process do chloroplasts and mitochondria undergo that is similar to prokaryotes?

chloroplasts and mitochondria reproduce independently, much like binary fission

What percentage of the modern atmosphere is nitrogen (N2)?

78%

What percentage of the modern atmosphere is oxygen (O2)?

21%

What percentage of the modern atmosphere is argon?

1%

What percentage of the modern Earth's crust is oxygen?

47%

What percentage of the modern Earth's crust is silicon?

28%

What are structures that appear to be useless but had ancestral functions?

vestigial structures

(Ex: pythons have

reduced leg bones)

What process occurs when 2 or more unrelated, harmful species, who share predators, come to mimic each other's warning signals?

Mullerian mimicry

What process occurs when a harmless species has evolved to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species directed at a common predator?

Batesian mimicry

What are all the alleles for any given trait in the population?

gene pool

What speciation occurs without a geographic barrier, so the population is continuous, but it still does not mate randomly?

parapatric speciation

(Note: populations may

occupy different niches

that are adjacent and

not isolated)

Why does divergence occur in parapatric speciation?

reduced gene flow and varying selection pressures across the population's range

Which speciation occurs when a population is isolated and prevented from exchanging genes from the “main” one?

peripatric speciation

(Note: one of the

populations is small

and undergoes

accelerated genetic drift)

What is the gradual evolution of a species without any branching, a straight path of evolution?

Anagenesis/phyletic evolution

What is a method of classification according to the proportion of measurable characteristics held in common between two organisms?

cladistics

According to cladistics, which organisms diverged the most recently from a common ancestor?

the organisms that share the most characteristics

What is a group of species that includes a common ancestor and all of its descendants?

clade

(AKA: monophylum)

What is a particular stage of an ecosystem?

sere

What is an organic matter that leaves an impression in rocks or in inorganic matter?

mold

(Note: leaves a

negative impression)

What is a type of fossil formed when a mold is filled?

cast

What is a small local population of the same species that regularly interbreed?

deme

What are chemosynthetic bacteria?

autotrophic anaerobes

What are green plants and photoplankton?

autotrophic aerobes

What is yeast?

heterotrophic anaerobe

What are amoebas, earthworms, and humans?

heterotrophic aerobes

What is a relationship between two species?

symbiosis

Which symbiotic relationship is beneficial to both species?

mutualism

Which symbiotic relationship is beneficial to one species and neutral to the other species?

commensalism

Which symbiotic relationship is beneficial to one species but detrimental to the other species?

parasitism

What are similar characteristics resulting from convergent evolution, therefore they are not derived from a common ancestor?

analogous traits

What are shared traits derived from an evolutionary ancestor common to all members of a group?

synapomorphies

What law states that the simplest explanation is most likely correct?

Law of Parsimony

(AKA: Occam's Razor)

By which method are phylogenetic trees constructed?

Law of Parsimony

(Note: the fewest number of changes with respect to synapomorphies is likely the most correct representation of reality)

Which phyletic group involves the ancestral species and some but not all descendents?

paraphyletic

Which phyletic group excludes the common ancestor of its members?

polyphyletic

Which phyletic group involves the ancestral species and all its descendants?

monophyletic