Evolution Key Vocabulary Quiz

Evolution - Key Vocabulary

• Evolution: Change in heritable characteristics of a population over generations.
• Darwinian Evolution: Theory of biological evolution where species arise and develop through natural selection.
• Lamarckism: Early theory of evolution where organisms pass traits acquired during their lifetime to offspring.
• Genetic: Relating to genes or heredity.
• DNA/RNA Sequences: Order of nucleotides in DNA/RNA molecules, determining genetic information.
• Amino Acid Sequences: Order of amino acids in a protein, affecting its structure and function.
• Common Ancestry: Different species evolved from a shared ancestor.
• Selective Breeding: Humans breed plants/animals for desired genetic traits.
• Domesticated Animals/Crop Plants: Species bred/modified by humans for specific purposes.
• Homologous Structures: Similar structures in different organisms with a common ancestor, potentially different functions.
• Pentadactyl Limb: Limb with five digits in many vertebrates, example of homologous structure.
• Convergent Evolution: Unrelated species independently evolve similar traits due to similar environments.
• Analogous Structures: Structures with the same function but different evolutionary origins, no common ancestor.
• Natural Selection: Process where organisms better adapted to their environment survive and reproduce more.
• Mutation: Change in DNA sequence affecting genetic information.

Sexual Reproduction and Speciation

• Sexual Reproduction: Organisms create offspring by combining genetic material from different sexes.
• Overproduction of Offspring: Species produce more offspring than can survive, leading to competition.
• Carrying Capacity: Maximum population size an environment can sustain indefinitely.
• Abiotic Factors: Non-living chemical parts of the environment affecting living organisms.
• Intraspecific Competition: Competition among members of the same species.
• Fitness: Genetic contribution of an individual to the next generation.
• Heritable Traits: Traits passed from parents to offspring through genes.
• Sexual Selection: One sex chooses mates, and competition within the same sex.
• Speciation: Process of forming new species through evolution.
• Reproductive Isolation: Different species in the same area unable to interbreed due to barriers.
• Sympatric Speciation: New species evolve from a single ancestor in the same region.
• Allopatric Speciation: New species forming due to geographic isolation.
• Adaptive Radiation: Group of organisms diversifies into new forms filling diverse ecological niches.
• Hybridization: Combining different species/varieties to create a hybrid offspring.
• Polyploidy: Cells/organisms gain extra sets of chromosomes.
• Biological Species Concept: Group of individuals that can breed and are reproductively isolated from other groups.

HL Words - Population Genetics

• Gene Pool: All genes in a specific population.
• Allele Frequencies: Relative frequency of different alleles in a population.
• Natural Selection: Differential survival and reproduction based on phenotype.
• Directional Selection: Population favors one extreme of a trait.
• Disruptive Selection: Population favors both extremes of a trait.
• Stabilizing Selection: Population favors the average trait.
• Hardy-Weinberg Equation: Describes allele and genotype frequencies in stable populations.
• Artificial Selection: Intentional breeding of individuals with desired traits.

Test your understanding of key vocabulary related to evolution in this quiz. Explore concepts including Darwinian evolution, Lamarckism, and genetic inheritance. This quiz will enhance your knowledge of how species evolve and the terminology used in evolutionary biology.