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Slide 2 / 78 Evolution Practice Questions www.njctl.org
Slide 3 / 78 1 Explain how the LUCA principle helps to explain the universal nature of the genetic code.
Slide 4 / 78 2 What is an adaptation ?
Slide 5 / 78 3 Explain how competition can help drive the process of evolution.
Slide 6 / 78 4 Suppose you are studying a population of bacteria in a lab. Some of the bacteria are born with a mutation that provides them resistance to antibiotics. Explain how competition in this population can lead to evolution and make a prediction of how this evolution will occur.
Slide 7 / 78 5 Pick an animal and provide an example of an adaptation that makes it more fit for its environment.
Slide 8 / 78 6 Explain why competition exists between individuals in a population, or between individuals of different species.
Slide 9 / 78 7 Explain the relationship between the genetic code and the origin of evolutionary adaptations.
Slide 10 / 78 8 Explain the error in Lamarck’s theory of Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics.
Slide 11 / 78 9 What is epigenetics?
Slide 12 / 78 10 Explain why the Galapagos Islands proved to be an integral part of Darwin’s voyage.
Slide 13 / 78 11 What distinguishing feature exists between finches of the Galapagos Islands? What environmental factor creates these differences?
Slide 14 / 78 12 Suppose you are studying big cats around the world. How can you use their physical structures to study evolutionary relationships? What is the term for this process?
Slide 15 / 78 13 Using Darwinian terminology, explain why a bird would possess wings that are too small to allow it to fly.
Slide 16 / 78 14 Explain why, at one point in our embryonic development, human beings have gill slits.
Slide 17 / 78 15 According to Darwin’s theory of natural selection, what will happen to the frequency of an allele that allows an organism to successfully compete for resources in a population?
Slide 18 / 78 16 Why is rRNA an especially useful tool when analyzing evolutionary relationships between organisms?
Slide 19 / 78 17 ‘Modern Synthesis’ combines the original work of what two revolutionary scientists?
Slide 20 / 78 18 Explain how epigenetics proves that at least some of Lamarck’s theory was accurate.
Slide 21 / 78 19 Pick one of the organisms Darwin studied in the Galapagos and explain how it helped him to develop his theory of evolution.
Slide 22 / 78 20 How is comparative anatomy useful in determining evolutionary relationships?
Slide 23 / 78 21 What is the evolutionary term used to describe the similarity between the structure of a bat wing and a human arm? How is this used to explain evolution?
Slide 24 / 78 22 Provide an example of a vestigial structure in the human body. Explain, evolutionarily, why this structure exists.
Slide 25 / 78 23 Explain, in evolutionary terms, why a fish, pig, chicken and human are virtually indistinguishable during their early developmental stages? What is the study of this process called?
Slide 26 / 78 24 Scientists during Darwin’s era discovered that the Earth was many millions of years old (not a few thousand, as previously though) and that the Earth is constantly changing. How did this influence the development of Darwin’s theory?
Slide 27 / 78 25 Briefly summarize the theory of natural selection.
Slide 28 / 78 26 What role might fossils have played in the development of Darwin’s theory?
Slide 29 / 78 27 Suppose humans share roughly 98% of our DNA with chimpanzees, 92% with mice and 44% with fruit flies. How would you use this information to help determine evolutionary relationships?
Slide 30 / 78 28 What is speciation?
Slide 31 / 78 29 Which traits in an environment would tend to be favored in stabilizing selection?
Slide 32 / 78 30 Would more diversity exist in an environment that favors directional selection or disruptive selection?
Slide 33 / 78 31 Suppose two species of plants are physically capable of interbreeding and their gametes are compatible, yet interbreeding cannot occur. Suggest a hypothesis for how this situation could arise.
Slide 34 / 78 32 What is the difference between directional selection and stabilizing selection?
Slide 35 / 78 33 Explain how the process of behavioral isolation can lead to speciation.
Slide 36 / 78 34 What is temporal isolation?
Slide 37 / 78 35 Suppose you are working as a caretaker at a zoo that has successfully bred a zebra with a giraffe, but the offspring itself is unable to reproduce. Provide an explanation to zookeepers to potentially explain this scenario.
Slide 38 / 78 36 Suppose you are studying two populations of foxes that are of the same species, but have become geographically isolated due to deforestation. Over a decade, you suspect that the two populations may have evolved into separate species. Explain how you could determine whether this is true.
Slide 39 / 78 37 Is a group of sparrows and blue jays living in the same forest an example of a population? Why or why not?
Slide 40 / 78 38 Scientists often refer to a population that exhibits a high level of genetic variability as being ‘elastic’ or ‘flexible.’ Explain why these terms are used in this context.
Slide 41 / 78 39 Can the Hardy-Weinberg Equation be used to analyze multiple populations at one time? Why or why not?
Slide 42 / 78 40 Identify three things that using the Hardy- Weinberg Equilibrium Equation can be used to determine about a population.
Slide 43 / 78 41 Suppose you are studying a population in which 16% of the individuals are homozygous recessive (bb). Using the Hardy-Weinberg equation, what is the frequency of the recessive allele in the population?
Slide 44 / 78 42 Referring to the question above, what is the frequency of heterozygous individuals in the population?
Slide 45 / 78 43 Suppose you are studying a population of sunfish in which long dorsal fins (L) are completely dominant over short dorsal fins. You find that the population consists of exactly 30% short finned fish. Calculate the frequency of homozygous dominant individuals in the population.
Slide 46 / 78 44 Referring to question above, what is the frequency of the recessive allele in this population?
Slide 47 / 78 45 Why is the Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium model more of a theoretical process than a truly concrete procedure?
Slide 48 / 78 46 According to the requirements for Hardy- Weinberg Equilibrium, are humans evolving? Why or why not?
Slide 49 / 78 47 What is the relationship that exists between genetic variability in a population and ability to respond to environmental changes?
Slide 50 / 78 48 For what purpose do scientists utilize the Hardy- Weinberg Equation?
Slide 51 / 78 49 What is the Hardy-Weinberg Equation?
Slide 52 / 78 50 Suppose you are studying a population of squirrels in which gray hair is completely dominant over black hair. The frequency of homozygous dominant individuals in the population is 41%. What is the frequency of the dominant allele in the population?
Slide 53 / 78 51 Referring to question #50, what is the frequency of heterozygous individuals in the population?
Slide 54 / 78 52 Suppose a population contains 10% homozygous recessive individuals. Using the Hardy-Weinberg equation, what is the frequency of the dominant allele in this population?
Slide 55 / 78 53 Identify three of the factors that need to be met in order for the Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium Equation to be effectively utilized.
Slide 56 / 78 54 Utilizing the Hardy-Weinberg equation, how can scientists determine whether or not a population is evolving?
Slide 57 / 78 55 What is genetic drift?
Slide 58 / 78 56 Explain how genetic drift can reduce, or even eliminate variation from a population.
Slide 59 / 78 57 Can genetic drift eliminate variation from a population where there was a consistently changing set of environmental conditions? Explain your answer.
Slide 60 / 78 58 Suppose you are studying an isolated population of elk in Canada that is under intense hunting pressure. Provide an explanation from a genetic standpoint why strict hunting regulations should be enacted for this area. Be sure to use appropriate vocabulary.
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