Evolution / Diversity of Life

Geologic Time Scale

• A Calendar of Earth's History

• Spans 4.6 billion years

Natural Selection

Nature selects those with desirable traits, and those survive and reproduce. Over time, the desirable trait becomes the most common because it has been past down generation after generation.

Evidence to support the Theory of Evolution

Remember several observations provide evidence for evolution including; natural selection, artfacts in the fossil record, DNA similarties in organisms,  embryology, and  similarities in anatomy (body structure)

Embryology

• Rsearching embryos has led to the observation that many organisms start out very similar in their early development.

Similar Body Structures

• Organisms with similar body structures indicate a common ancestor.

• Similar body structures that species have inherited from a common ancestor are called Homologous Structures.

The Fossil Record

Almost all fossils found are of extinct animals. Scientist have been able to study Earth's history from these fossils. They have been able to piece together what the past may have been like, and that these ancient remains are ancestors to organisms living today.

DNA

DNA, or chemical codes are the instructions, or recipes, for all living things. DNA exists in the cells of all organisms.

Fossilized remains of extinct organisms still contain traces of DNA which can be extracted, duplicated, and compared to the DNA of living organisms.

Comparing ancient DNA to DNA of current species shows scientists how different species are related to each other through their common ancestors.

Multiple Choice

Vocab check:

The theory that organisms have slowly changed over time...

• fossil record

• relative dating

• evolution

• adaptation

Multiple Choice

Mistakes or changes that occur int he DNA sequence are called....

• adatations
• Darwinism
• mutations
• natural selection

Multiple Choice

The preserved remains or physical evidence of an organism that lived in the past are called...

• evolutionary features
• fossils
• mutations
• variations

Multiple Choice

What does this picture model?

• DNA structure of the horse
• Evolution of the horse
• Extinction of the horse
• Singular traite of the horse

Multiple Choice

What most likely caused the finches on the Galapagos Islands to have beaks that were differnt from the finches living on the South American mainland?

• They were different types of food available on the island.
• The finches on the islands had to drink salt water.
• There were different types of predators living on the island.
• The finches on the mainland built different types of nests.

Multiple Choice

Which would NOT be considered a fossil?

• bones buried deep in the earth
• footprints harened in  mud or rocks
• imprints left in rocks
• stories passed down from generation to generation

Multiple Choice

What is it called when an organism is best adapted to its environment, it will survive and reproduce more successfully than other organisms less adapted?

• cloning
• evolution of all species
• natural selection
• selective breeding

Multiple Choice

This is a group of organisms of the same species that live in a specific geographical area.

• Environment
• Evolution
• Biological diversity
• Populations

Multiple Choice

The surroundings and conditions in which an organism lives and operates.

• Evolution
• Population
• Environment
• Biological diversity

Multiple Choice

These are natural differences within a species.

• Evolution
• Genetic variation
• Biological diversity
• Populations

Multiple Choice

The variety of organisms that live on the Earth is called_____________.

• Biological diversity
• Evolution
• Environment
• Natural selection

Multiple Choice

This is an ecological relationship in which two or more organisms depend on the same limited resource.

• Adaptation
• Competition
• Evolution
• Natural selection

Multiple Choice

The death of every member of a species.

• Competition
• Population
• Extinction
• Evidence

Multiple Choice

What is the process in which populations CHANGE gradually over time?

• evolution

• species

• variation

• competition

Multiple Choice

What do you call similar structures that related species have inherited from a common ancestor?

• Natural Selection

• Analogous Structure

• Vestigial Structure

• Homologous Structure

Multiple Choice

Millions of fossils that scientists have collected which tells us the history of

the Earth and all living things on it.

• scientific theory

• fossil record

• vestigial structure

• natural selection

Multiple Choice

Body parts that are structurally similar in related species ant that provide evidence for a common ancestor.

• petrified fossil

• homologous structure

• variation

• vestigial structure

Multiple Choice

Ancient whales once walked on the Earth more than 45 million years ago.

The remnants of their pelvic, hip, and leg bones still exist in today's cetaceous

mammals (dolphins, whales, porpoises). These structures are called the _________

inherited from ancient walking whales.

• homologous structures

• petrified fossil

• vestigial structures

• preserved remains

Multiple Choice

Which would be an example of a homologous structure?

• a bird beak and a dog mouth

• a hippo leg and a whale fin

• a dolphin fin and whale fin

• a bird wing and a butterfly wing

Multiple Select

Which are examples of vestigial structures? Select all that apply!

• human appendix

• whale pelvis

• tail bone

Multiple Choice

An example of a vestigial structure_______.

• a monkey's tail
• the pelvic bone found in a whale.
• our brains.
• a plant's stem.

Multiple Choice

A mutation is a ______________________________.

• change in a gene found in DNA.
• when you become Wolverine.
• when you adapt to your environment.
• the pelvic bone found in a whale.

Multiple Choice

DNA is ________.

• made by chloroplasts.
• brain matter.
• hereditary material found in cells.
• dinosaur nucleic acid.

Multiple Choice

When humans select which traits will be passed to the next generation, this is called _______________________.

• picky parenting.
• science fiction.
• selective breeding.
• genetic control.

Multiple Choice

A population is _________________________.

• a group of the same species that live together in the same area.
• a group of different species living in the same area.
• a family living in a house.
• an ecosystem.

Multiple Choice

Many different animals look very similar at the __________ stage.

• infant
• toddler
• birth
• embryonic

Multiple Choice

A squirrel eats walnuts. Through natural selection only the thickest and strongest walnuts survive. What is the most reasonable adapation for the squirrel?

• Better eyesight
• Brighter colored fur
• Shorter claws
• larger/stronger teeth

Multiple Choice

What is another name for natural selection?

• survival of the smartest
• survival of the fastest
• survival of the biggest
• survival of the fittest

Multiple Choice

Which rock layer contains the oldest fossil?

• A

• B

• C

• D

Multiple Choice

Which rock layer contain fossils of the most evolved organism?

• A

• B

• C

• D

Multiple Choice

The evidence in this diagram supports _______________.

• Common Ancestry

• Diversity

• Heredity

• Metamorphosis

Multiple Choice

An organ that was used by an ancestor but now serves no current function is described as ______(ex: appendix)

• Antiquated

• Vascular

• Vestigial

• Obsolete

Multiple Choice

An organism in its earliest stage of life is known as a(n) __________.

• baby

• whippersnapper

• Embryo

• infant

Multiple Choice

A geologist identifies the identical index fossils in rock layers from 2 different areas. What can be concluded?

• The two rock layers were deposited at approximately the same time.

• The fossil organism evolved independently in the 2 separate layers

• The deposition rate of the 2 layers was identical

Multiple Choice

Which best explains why mammals became dominant after the mass extinction of dinosaurs?

• They had traits that allowed them to adapt and change to the environment.

• They were bigger than dinosaurs.

• They were able to hibernate for a long time.

• They ate different foods than dinosaurs.

Multiple Choice

If a bat, an alligator, and a bird evolved from a common ancestor, what can be concluded?

• They have similar anatomical structures

• They live in the same part of the world

• They are in the same biological classification

Multiple Choice

Which evidence supports the idea that life on Earth has continually evolved?

• evidence from layers of tree rings

• evidence from rock layers, fossils, and ice cores

• evidence gathered from melting glaciers

• evidence that the climate has changed over the past 100 years

Multiple Choice

Which would most likely increase the genetic variation in a population of organisms?

• increase in diseases

• decrease in diseases

• increase in mutations

• decrease in mutations

Multiple Choice

Which is the best evidence for evolution?

• new rock layers containing fossils of simple organisms

• new rock layers containing fossils unlike existing organisms

• old rock layers containing fossils unlike existing organisms

• old rock layers containing fossils of complex organisms

Multiple Choice

Which demonstrates how genetic variation may result from a change in the environment where an animal lives?

• A salmon swims faster as it enters colder waters.

• A snake increases its body temperature because it moves on top of a rock in direct sunlight.

• A beetle stands out to predators because it moves among plants that have colors different than its own.

• An arctic fox changes its color over time because it migrates to an area with a different climate.

Multiple Choice

Why do peppered moths tend to be the same color as the trees on which they live?

• The coloring goes along with tasting like the tree.

• It keeps the moth the same temperature as the tree.

• It makes the moths faster than the birds

• It makes the moths harder to see.

Multiple Choice

All of these finches have different shaped beaks. They are an adaptation to gain access to different types of

• Water

• Food

• Shelter