Unit 3 Biology Quiz

Grade 11 Biology Chapter 7 & 8.1

Charles Darwin

English naturalist who developed natural selection theory.

HMS Beagle

Ship that carried Darwin to the Galapagos Islands.

Theory of Evolution

Explains species change through natural selection.

Natural Selection

Process where organisms with favorable traits survive.

Pillars of Evolution

Two main ideas supporting Darwin's theory.

Species Distribution

Observation of species clustering in specific regions.

Fossil Evidence

Similar fossils found in same regions as living species.

Galapagos Finches

Birds that adapted beaks to local food sources.

Adaptation

Traits developed by species to survive in environments.

Common Ancestor

All life descended from a single unknown organism.

Struggle for Resources

More offspring than resources leads to competition.

Inheritable Traits

Traits passed from parents to offspring.

Survival of the Fittest

Fittest individuals reproduce more successfully.

Descent with Modification

Evolutionary process where species change over time.

Artificial Selection

Human-driven breeding for desired traits in species.

Sexual Reproduction Variations

Variations arise from sexual reproduction in species.

Gradual Change

Evolutionary changes occur slowly over generations.

Evolutionary Progress

Natural selection does not imply progress or direction.

Extinct Animals

Fossils of species that no longer exist.

Species Modification

Species may evolve from ancestral forms.

Darwin's Observations

Key insights that led to his evolutionary theory.

The Origin of Species

Darwin's book detailing his theory of evolution.

Adaptation

can be a structure, behaviour, or physiological process that helps an organism survive and reproduce in a particular environment.

Structural Adaptation

affects a specific part or feature of the organism's body, e.g. camouflage or human's opposable thumbs.

Behavioural Adaptation

affects the way an organism acts, e.g. hunting strategies, migration, hibernation.

Physiological Adaptation

permits an organism to perform special functions, e.g. producing slime or venom, hibernation.

Mimicry

a form of structural adaptation where a harmless species imitates a harmful species, e.g. fox snakes mimic rattlesnakes by vibrating their tails.

Development of Adaptation

Adaptations are a result of gradual, accumulative changes that help an organism survive and reproduce.

Mutation

a change in the base sequence of one or more genes.

Mutation - Mechanism

includes substituting nucleotides, inserting nucleotides, or deleting nucleotides.

Mutation - Effects

can be negative, neutral, or positive.

Mutation - Locations

can occur in somatic tissue (affects only an individual) or in gametes (affects offspring and the entire species).

Mutations and Variation

Mutations result in new alleles and produce many variations (differences among individuals within a population).

Variation to Adaptation

The proportions of some inherited characteristics in a population change in response to changes in the environment.

Selective Advantage

the genetic advantage of one organism over its competitors, causing the individual to be favoured in survival and reproduction rates over time.

Selective Advantage and rapid reproduction

With a rapid rate of reproduction, a random mutation that has a selective advantage can become more prevalent in the population.

English peppered moth

an example of variation to adaptation, showing how the proportions of phenotypes changed during the Industrial Revolution.

Remember #1

Adaptations are the result of gradual, accumulative changes that help an organism survive and reproduce.

Remember #2

Mutations come about completely by chance.

Remember #3

Organisms do not alter their genetic information so they can exist in new environments.

Remember #4

Populations change, individuals do not.

Scientific Theory

A coherent explanation for observations about the natural world.

Plato and Aristotle

Believed life was unchanging because it was already perfected.

John Ray

Developed a classification system for plants and animals based on anatomy and physiology.

Carolus Linnaeus

Extended the classification system, allowing scientists to recognize similarities and differences between organisms.

Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon

Suggested similarities between humans and apes, proposed a common ancestor, and indicated that species change over time.

Mary Anning

Fossil hunter who discovered the first plesiosaur, an aquatic reptile.

Georges Cuvier

Founder of paleontology who discovered that each stratum has a unique group of fossils and that the oldest fossils are in the deepest layer.

Catastrophism

The theory suggesting that catastrophes killed many species, corresponding to boundaries between fossil strata.

Charles Lyell

Rejected Cuvier's theory of catastrophism, proposing uniformitarianism, which states geological processes operate at the same rate in the past as today.

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

Compared fossils to today's species and suggested a line of descent between ancestral species and today's species.

Lamarck's Theory

The idea that organisms become increasingly more adapted to their environment over time, with characteristics acquired during an organism's lifetime potentially passed on to offspring.

Thomas Malthus

Wrote 'Essay on the Principles of Population', stating that populations produce far more offspring than their environments can support.

Charles Darwin

Developed the Theory Of Evolution By Natural Selection after his voyage on the HMS Beagle to the Galapagos Islands.

Alfred Russel Wallace

Proposed a similar idea to Darwin regarding evolution.

Natural Selection

The process where mutations produce different variations in the population, and individuals with a selective advantage increase their chances to survive and reproduce, passing characteristics onto offspring.

Selective Pressure

Environmental condition that selects for certain characteristics of individuals and selects against other characteristics.

Biotic Factors

Living components that affect another organism, such as predators, parasites, and competition for resources.

Abiotic Factors

Environmental pressures that can alter the behavior in a population, such as weather, pesticides, antibiotics, and urban vs. rural settings.

Fitness

The relative contribution an individual makes to the next generation by producing offspring that will survive long enough to reproduce, measured by the number of reproductively viable offspring.

Artificial Selection

Selective pressure exerted by humans on populations to improve or modify particular desirable traits.

Changes to a population (Natural Selection)

Caused by environmental pressures and selective advantages.

Changes to a population (Artificial Selection)

Caused by deliberate selective breeding by humans.

Natural Selection Outcomes

Results in traits that increase a population's fitness to survive and reproduce in their natural habitat.

Artificial Selection Outcomes

Results in traits desirable to humans but not necessarily increasing a population's fitness to survive and reproduce in their natural habitat.

Benefits of Artificial Selection in Food Crops

To increase nutritional value, increase production at harvest, and create drought-resistant or pest-resistant crops.

Consequences of Artificial Selection

Certain inherited traits may cause severe effects in organisms and reduce genetic variation (Monoculture), posing risks such as new diseases that can infest and kill the whole crop population.

Irish Potato Famine

A historical example from the 1840s illustrating the risks of monoculture due to reduced genetic variation.

Genebanks

Facilities where seeds of plants are preserved, containing populations of early ancestors of modern plants and genetic combinations that allowed them to survive and reproduce.

Natural Selection is Situational

Natural selection depends on its environment and the traits available, does not anticipate environmental changes, and a trait may only become relevant for survival when a selective pressure arises.