Evolution Unit Study Guide

Evolution Unit Study Guide

• Mutation: A change in DNA sequence. Example: sickle cell anemia.
• Variation: Differences in traits within a population. Example: different eye colors.
• Heredity: Passing traits from parents to offspring. Example: eye color.
• Charles Darwin's Theory vs. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck's Theory: Darwin's Theory focuses on natural selection and adaptation over time, while Lamarck's theory proposed acquired traits could be inherited.
• Antibiotic Resistance: Bacteria can develop mutations allowing them to survive exposure to antibiotics.
• Natural Selection: Organisms better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce, passing on their advantageous traits.
• Artificial Selection: Humans select desirable traits for breeding, leading to specific characteristics in organisms.
• Acquired vs. Heritable Traits: Acquired traits are learned or developed during an organism's lifetime (e.g., language, riding a bike), while heritable ones are passed from parents to offspring (e.g., eye color).
• Sickle Cell Mutation: A genetic change causing abnormal hemoglobin, leading to sickle-shaped red blood cells. Pros: reduced risk of malaria, cons: anemia, pain.
• Homozygous Recessive - Sickle Cell Disease Genotype:* ss
• Phenotype: Observable characteristics (e.g., height and eye colour).
• Genotype: Genetic makeup (e.g., the combination of alleles).
• Homozygous: Having identical alleles for a particular gene.
• Heterozygous: Having different alleles for a particular gene.
• New Species Formation: A new species forms when a group within a population becomes reproductively isolated.

Dolphin and Fish Population

• Dolphin feeding habits: Dolphins eat both colorful and silver fish.
• Color change impact: If the coral reef loses its color, colorful fish may be less camouflaged, making them more vulnerable to predators.
• Impact of dolphin vision: If dolphins can see silver fish easier, the population of colorful fish may decrease because they are more visible to predators.
• Color change in fish: The change in coloration is likely due to natural selection, where silver fish are better camouflaged, making them more likely to survive and pass on their genes.

Evolutionary Tree

• Evolutionary relationships: The diagram shows the evolutionary relationships between different species, with the common ancestor at the base.
• Extinct and extant species: The tree indicates which species existed before others, and which species are still around.
• Shared Ancestry: The closer two species are on the tree, the more recently they shared a common ancestor.

Additional Questions

• Insect vs Mammal species: Insects are more numerous than mammals.
• Fossil Formation: Fossils found in lower layers are older than those in upper layers, indicating a chronological order.
• Evolution of land mammals into whales: Adaptations occurred to facilitate life in the water, gradually.
• Sixth Extinction: A period of significant loss of species.
• Human evolution and impact Humans are affected by evolution, but also affect evolution. Examples are antibiotic resistance.
• Bacteria: Unicellular.
• Punnett Square Probability: A Punnett Square is used to predict the probability of genotypes of offspring from parents with known genotypes.

Explore the fundamental concepts of evolution in this study guide. Discover key ideas like mutation, variation, heredity, and the contrasting theories of Charles Darwin and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. This guide provides insights into natural selection, antibiotic resistance, and the implications of artificial selection.