29 Questions
Which scientist is credited with founding taxonomy, the branch of biology that organizes species into a nested classification system?
Linnaeus
Which philosopher viewed species as fixed and arranged them on a scala naturae?
Aristotle
Who speculated that each boundary between strata represents a catastrophe that destroyed many species?
Cuvier
Which geologists perceived that changes in Earth’s surface can result from slow, continuous actions still operating today?
James Hutton and Charles Lyell
Which book marked the beginning of a new era in biology?
The Origin of Species
What did 'On the Origin of Species' focus on?
The great diversity of organisms
What is the main research focus of the Behavioral Neurophysiology Lab?
Internal sensory detection in animals
Which scientist proposed that the mechanisms of change are constant over time?
Lyell
What did Lamarck hypothesize about species evolution?
Species evolve through use and disuse of body parts and the inheritance of acquired characteristics
What did Darwin observe about fossils and living species during his travels on the Beagle?
Fossils resembled living species from the same region, and living species resembled other species from nearby regions
What did Darwin hypothesize about the Galápagos finches?
Species from South America had colonized the Galápagos and speciated on the islands
Which term refers to the similarity resulting from common ancestry?
Homology
What are homologous structures?
anatomical resemblances that represent variations on a structural theme present in a common ancestor.
What is the term for the evolution of similar features in distantly related groups?
Convergent evolution
What does the fossil record provide evidence of?
Extinction of species, origin of new groups, and changes within groups over time
What did Charles Darwin write in 1844?
An essay on natural selection
What is natural selection?
A process where individuals with favorable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce
When did Darwin receive a manuscript from Alfred Russell Wallace?
In June 1858
What did Darwin argue about the modification of species in nature?
A similar process occurs in nature
Which two observations did Darwin draw inferences from?
Members of a population often vary in their inherited traits
What is the key feature of natural selection?
Individuals with certain heritable traits survive and reproduce at a higher rate than other individuals
What are the four types of data that document the pattern of evolution?
Direct observations, homology, the fossil record, and biogeography
What is an example of direct observation of natural selection?
Change in a population's food source resulting in evolution
What does a scientific theory do?
Accounts for many observations and explains and integrates a great variety of phenomena
What must the predictions of a scientific theory do?
Stand up to continual testing by experimentation and observation
What does Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection do?
Integrates diverse areas of biological study and stimulates many new research questions
What is an experiment?
A scientific test, often carried out under controlled conditions
According to Karl Popper, what can be done with a theory in the empirical sciences?
It can be falsified, meaning that it can (and should) be examined with decisive experiments
What must a hypothesis be according to the text?
Testable and falsifiable
Test your understanding of homology and evolution with this quiz! Explore the concept of descent with modification and discover how related species can have similar characteristics that function differently. Challenge yourself with questions about homologous structures and common ancestry.
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