Binghamton Bio 114 Final Review (Answered) 430
Questions and Correct Answers With Verified Solution,
Updated Fall 2024/2025. 100% Correct.
Cell Theory
All organisms are made of cells, and all cells come from pre-existing cells.
Conclusion: If you trace a cell's lineage back far enough, you will discover that all cells are descended
from a common ancestral cell
Evolution
The heritable change in a population over time or a change in gene frequency in a population over a
number of
generations
Proximate process
what happens in short term, measured in fractions of lifetimes
Ultimate process
longer timeframe (lifetime or more)
Evolutionary Theory
2 General Ideas:
Evolution explains variation
All species are related to each other through common ancestry
Biomes
collection of similar ecosystems but not part of hierarchy because it doesn't have emergent properties
Before the mid-1800s we knew:
a. Organisms have offspring similar to themselves.
b. We could select individual plants and animals on our farms to breed and produce offspring that we
considered beneficial.
c. There exists a large amount of diversity/variation among organisms within a species.
d. Differences among the members of a population mean that not all are affected in the same way by
ecological factors
e. The variation between species may mean that not all areas that can do so will support a population of
a particular species or actually have a population present.
f. Typically, individuals produce more offspring than what the environment can support.
Also, Special Creation, species have never changed and are unchangeable, variation between individuals
is unimportant, and Aristotle's Great Chain of Being.
,Emergent Properties
The collection of the units at one level takes on a trait that is greater than the sum of the parts
Ex: Social groups have the emergent property to have safety in numbers
Evolution is an emergent property of populations
Organisms
Individuals that are typically a collection of organ systems. They are acted on by natural selection.
Jean Baptiste de Lamarck
first evolutionist to believe that organisms change over time. The theory of acquired characteristics:
individuals change as a result of environmental pressures and then pass those traits to offspring
ex: you're JACKED and then your child is born JACKED
Fitness
number of viable offspring you produce in your lifetime
Adaptations
A heritable trait that increases the relative fitness of individuals having that trait
A process by which individuals within a population acquire traits that increase their relative fitness
Australian Rabbits
Rabbit invasion, tried to control population with myxomatosis virus that only kills rabbits, it was pretty
effective in killing rabbit pop , but only killed 99.9% so the rabbit population that was resistant survived
and passed on resistance to offspring through placenta
What do rabbit and virus population have in common?
They both have variation (virus- virility, rabbit- variation in susceptibility)
Both are populations
Both have differential reproduction
Homologies
traits in common due to inheritance from a common ancestor
Macroevolution
the change of one major taxonomic group into another (ex: fish to amphibians to reptiles) or creation or
extinction of a species
1.) Homology
2.)Fossil Record
3.) Vestigial Traits
Microevolution
,the change in a population over generations that helps to separate populations from each other
genetically.
Accumulation of microevolution over time leads to macroevolution
Evolutionary Trends
resulted from macroevolutionary processes
a. An increase in multicellularity
b. An increase in complexity
c. An increase in ways to capture energy for use
d. An increase in ways to deal with the environment - biotic and abiotic
e. An increase in diversity (snowball effect)
Construct a hypothetical scenario that explains the evolution of feathers in birds (feathers are
modified scales)
Scales that vary in shape/waviness may have an advantage regulating body temp. allowing them to have
more energy to get food
Scales over generations end up evolving into feathers allowing those organisms to survive and reproduce
Ecosystems
Communities plus abiotic factors. They are much larger agents than communities.
Natural Selection
A process by which evolution can occur
It requires:
Trait variation in a population
Heritability, or traits that are passed from parents to offspring by genes
Differential Survival, or individuals that live long enough to reproduce
Differential Reproduction, or individuals that will breed more offspring than others
The Biosphere
All the ecosystems put together. All that gets in is sunlight, and all that leaves is heat energy.
Charles Darwin
On the Origin of Species - Natural selection is responsible for the origin of species
All species have a common ancestor
All species show changes in characteristics through time
All species show changes in characteristics in different environments
These three components lead us to our modern theory of natural selection
, Populations
Collections of individuals of the same species. Evolutionary change affects the population.
Communities
Collections of populations of different species living together in the same area with natural boundaries.
Special Creation
all organisms were created by a divine being
Great Chain of Being
all species are organized into a sequence based on increased size and complexity, with humans at the top
Artificial Selection
Humans are selecting agents, who choose specific plants and animals to breed.
Developmental Homology
Similarities in morphology of embryos of different species
Structural Homology
Similarities in structure of body parts of different species
Evidence that Species and Species Diversity Change Over Time
Fossil Record and Vestigial Traits
Fossil Record
1.) Not all species were together at one time
2.) Extinction has taken place
3.) Transitional forms exist
4.) Major increases in species complexity takes billions of years
5.) Life began in the sea
Vestigial Traits
Structures in organisms commonly found in the species that serve little or no function
Atavism
A vestigial trait found in very few individuals within a species
Misconceptions about Evolution
1.) If evolution is true, then there is no God.
2.) Humans evolved from apes
3.) individuals evolve
4.) Adaptation occurs because a species needs/wants it
5.) Evolution always results in a more complex or better organism
Questions and Correct Answers With Verified Solution,
Updated Fall 2024/2025. 100% Correct.
Cell Theory
All organisms are made of cells, and all cells come from pre-existing cells.
Conclusion: If you trace a cell's lineage back far enough, you will discover that all cells are descended
from a common ancestral cell
Evolution
The heritable change in a population over time or a change in gene frequency in a population over a
number of
generations
Proximate process
what happens in short term, measured in fractions of lifetimes
Ultimate process
longer timeframe (lifetime or more)
Evolutionary Theory
2 General Ideas:
Evolution explains variation
All species are related to each other through common ancestry
Biomes
collection of similar ecosystems but not part of hierarchy because it doesn't have emergent properties
Before the mid-1800s we knew:
a. Organisms have offspring similar to themselves.
b. We could select individual plants and animals on our farms to breed and produce offspring that we
considered beneficial.
c. There exists a large amount of diversity/variation among organisms within a species.
d. Differences among the members of a population mean that not all are affected in the same way by
ecological factors
e. The variation between species may mean that not all areas that can do so will support a population of
a particular species or actually have a population present.
f. Typically, individuals produce more offspring than what the environment can support.
Also, Special Creation, species have never changed and are unchangeable, variation between individuals
is unimportant, and Aristotle's Great Chain of Being.
,Emergent Properties
The collection of the units at one level takes on a trait that is greater than the sum of the parts
Ex: Social groups have the emergent property to have safety in numbers
Evolution is an emergent property of populations
Organisms
Individuals that are typically a collection of organ systems. They are acted on by natural selection.
Jean Baptiste de Lamarck
first evolutionist to believe that organisms change over time. The theory of acquired characteristics:
individuals change as a result of environmental pressures and then pass those traits to offspring
ex: you're JACKED and then your child is born JACKED
Fitness
number of viable offspring you produce in your lifetime
Adaptations
A heritable trait that increases the relative fitness of individuals having that trait
A process by which individuals within a population acquire traits that increase their relative fitness
Australian Rabbits
Rabbit invasion, tried to control population with myxomatosis virus that only kills rabbits, it was pretty
effective in killing rabbit pop , but only killed 99.9% so the rabbit population that was resistant survived
and passed on resistance to offspring through placenta
What do rabbit and virus population have in common?
They both have variation (virus- virility, rabbit- variation in susceptibility)
Both are populations
Both have differential reproduction
Homologies
traits in common due to inheritance from a common ancestor
Macroevolution
the change of one major taxonomic group into another (ex: fish to amphibians to reptiles) or creation or
extinction of a species
1.) Homology
2.)Fossil Record
3.) Vestigial Traits
Microevolution
,the change in a population over generations that helps to separate populations from each other
genetically.
Accumulation of microevolution over time leads to macroevolution
Evolutionary Trends
resulted from macroevolutionary processes
a. An increase in multicellularity
b. An increase in complexity
c. An increase in ways to capture energy for use
d. An increase in ways to deal with the environment - biotic and abiotic
e. An increase in diversity (snowball effect)
Construct a hypothetical scenario that explains the evolution of feathers in birds (feathers are
modified scales)
Scales that vary in shape/waviness may have an advantage regulating body temp. allowing them to have
more energy to get food
Scales over generations end up evolving into feathers allowing those organisms to survive and reproduce
Ecosystems
Communities plus abiotic factors. They are much larger agents than communities.
Natural Selection
A process by which evolution can occur
It requires:
Trait variation in a population
Heritability, or traits that are passed from parents to offspring by genes
Differential Survival, or individuals that live long enough to reproduce
Differential Reproduction, or individuals that will breed more offspring than others
The Biosphere
All the ecosystems put together. All that gets in is sunlight, and all that leaves is heat energy.
Charles Darwin
On the Origin of Species - Natural selection is responsible for the origin of species
All species have a common ancestor
All species show changes in characteristics through time
All species show changes in characteristics in different environments
These three components lead us to our modern theory of natural selection
, Populations
Collections of individuals of the same species. Evolutionary change affects the population.
Communities
Collections of populations of different species living together in the same area with natural boundaries.
Special Creation
all organisms were created by a divine being
Great Chain of Being
all species are organized into a sequence based on increased size and complexity, with humans at the top
Artificial Selection
Humans are selecting agents, who choose specific plants and animals to breed.
Developmental Homology
Similarities in morphology of embryos of different species
Structural Homology
Similarities in structure of body parts of different species
Evidence that Species and Species Diversity Change Over Time
Fossil Record and Vestigial Traits
Fossil Record
1.) Not all species were together at one time
2.) Extinction has taken place
3.) Transitional forms exist
4.) Major increases in species complexity takes billions of years
5.) Life began in the sea
Vestigial Traits
Structures in organisms commonly found in the species that serve little or no function
Atavism
A vestigial trait found in very few individuals within a species
Misconceptions about Evolution
1.) If evolution is true, then there is no God.
2.) Humans evolved from apes
3.) individuals evolve
4.) Adaptation occurs because a species needs/wants it
5.) Evolution always results in a more complex or better organism
