Download Biology 17.4 Evidence of Evolution Exam with Verified Solutions and more Exams Biology in PDF only on Docsity!
Biology 17.4 Evidence of Evolution Exam
with Verified Solutions
______ is the study of where organisms live now where they and they ancestors lived in the past ANSWER Biogeography Patterns in the distribution of _____ and living _____, combined with information from ______, tell us how modern organisms evolved from their ancestors. ANSWER fossils, species, geology Darwin realized that closely related species can evolve ______ adaptations in different _______. ANSWER diverse, environments Darwin also realized that very distantly related species can evolve ______ adaptations if they live in similar _______. ANSWER similar, environments Darwin knew that for life to have ______ the way he thought it had, the Earth must be very _____. ANSWER evolved, old _____ and _____ had argued that the Earth was much older than people thought but they could not determine just how old. ANSWER Hutton, Lyell The discovery ______ and the technique of radioactive dating enabled scientists to date rocks and determine that the Earth is about ______ years old - plenty of time for evolution by _____ _____ to take place. ANSWER radioactivity, 4.5 billion, natural selection Many recently discovered _____, now show clearly how modern species evolved from _____ _____. ANSWER fossils, extinct ancestors
So many intermediate life forms have been found in the ____ ____ that it is difficult to tell where one group begins and another ends. ANSWER fossil record By Darwin's time, scientists had noted that the bones in all ____ limbs ______ each other to a surprising degree. ANSWER vertebrate, resembled Similar structures, like the bones of vertebrate limbs, that are shared by related species and have been inherited from a common ancestor are called _____ _____. ANSWER homologous structures _____ _____ explains the existence of homologous structures adapted to _____ purposes as the result of ____ ___ _____ from a common ancestor. ANSWER Evolutionary theory, different, descent with modification Similarities and differences among ____ _____ help determine how recently species shared a _____ ____. ANSWER homologous structures, common ancestor The key to identifying homology is ____ _____ and ______ during development, not ____ _____. ANSWER common structure, origin, common function _____ _____ are inherited from ancestors, but have lost much of their original size and function. ANSWER Vestigial structures One example of a vestigial structure is the ______ of dolphins ANSWER hipbones One proposed reason why ____ _____ continue to exist in an organism is that they do not affect an organism's _____, so natural selection does not eliminate them. ANSWER vestigial structures, fitness
The ____ ____ is nearly identical in nearly all organisms, which is powerful evidence that all organisms ____ from common ancestors. ANSWER genetic code, evolved In Darwin's day, biologists could only study similarities and differences in ____ they could see. Today, we know that ____ resulting from common ancestors shows up at the _____ level too. ANSWER structures, homology, molecular On spectacular example of homologous genes is a set of genes called ____ ____. These help determine the destinies of different ____ ___. ANSWER Hox genes, body parts _____ changes in Hox genes (or "master control genes") can produce _____ changes in the size and shape of the structures they control. ANSWER Small, dramatic At least some _____ ___ genes are found in almost all multicellular animals. This is further evidence that these genes have been _____ from ancient common ancestors. ANSWER homologous Hox, inherited The data that the _____ gathered on finch populations during the drought on the Galapagos showed a dramatic increase in ___ ____ over just a few years. ANSWER Grants, beak sizes The Grants documented that ____ _____ takes place in wild finch populations _____, and sometimes rapidly. ANSWER natural selection, frequently One of the Grants' colleagues calculated that it might take no more than 12 to 20 major droughts to change the ___ ____ of the finches enough to transform them into another ______. ANSWER break sizes, species
______ within a species increases a population's ability to adapt to, and survive, _____ change. ANSWER Variation, environmental Today evolutionary theory is vital to all biological and biomedical sciences, and is often called the ____ ____ ___ of the life sciences. ANSWER grand unifying theory
