Evolution Reading Questions

Name______

1-Trace the History of the Theory

  1. What did Lamarck believe caused changes in organisms over time?
  2. What two main points did Charles Lyell propose in his book?
  3. What did Thomas Malthus propose in his book?
  4. What two central concepts emerged from Darwin’s voyage?
  5. What did Alfred Wallace believe was the main force behind natural selection?
  6. What did Darwin focus on as the force behind natural selection?
  7. What is population genetics?
  8. What is natural selection?

Evolution Reading Questions

Name______

1-Trace the History of the Theory

  1. What did Lamarck believe caused changes in organisms over time?
  2. What two main points did Charles Lyell propose in his book?
  3. What did Thomas Malthus propose in his book?
  4. What two central concepts emerged from Darwin’s voyage?
  5. What did Alfred Wallace believe was the main force behind natural selection?
  6. What did Darwin focus on as the force behind natural selection?
  7. What is population genetics?
  8. What is natural selection?

2-Explain the History of Life in Terms of Biodiversity, Ancestry, and the Rates of Evolution

  1. What is adaptive radiation? Give an example.
  2. What is convergent evolution? Give an example.
  3. Why was myosin so interesting to evolutionary biologist? What did it show?
  4. What is Biodiversity?
  5. How do biologist used DNA to show how long ago genes branched off from a common ancestor?
  6. What is speciation?
  7. What are two rates of Speciation? Explain each.
  1. What can cause speciation?

2-Explain the History of Life in Terms of Biodiversity, Ancestry, and the Rates of Evolution

  1. What is adaptive radiation? Give an example.
  2. What is convergent evolution? Give an example.
  3. Why was myosin so interesting to evolutionary biologist? What did it show?
  4. What is Biodiversity?
  5. How do biologist used DNA to show how long ago genes branched off from a common ancestor?
  6. What is speciation?
  7. What are two rates of Speciation? Explain each.
  1. What can cause speciation?

Evolution Reading Questions

Name______

3- Explain How Fossil & Biochemical Evidence Supports the Theory

  1. What is a fossil?
  2. What are some problems with the fossil record?
  3. How does radioisotope dating work?
  4. What if an organism is older than 50,000 years?
  5. What is a phylogeny?
  6. What is extinction?

Evolution Reading Questions

Name______

3- Explain How Fossil & Biochemical Evidence Supports the Theory

  1. What is a fossil?
  2. What are some problems with the fossil record?
  3. How does radioisotope dating work?
  4. What if an organism is older than 50,000 years?
  5. What is a phylogeny?
  6. What is extinction?
  7. How many mass extinctions have there been?
  8. How many mass extinctions have there been?

Evolution Reading Questions

Name______

4- Relate Natural Selection to Changes in Organisms

  1. What is a key to Darwin’s theory of organisms struggling for existence?
  2. What causes gene pools to change over time?
  3. Fill in the following chart.

Type of Selection / Description of what happens
Stabilizing
Directional
Diversifying
Disruptive
Balancing
  1. Does the strongest, biggest, and most aggressive animal always have the highest fitness rating? Explain your answer.
  2. Does natural selection produce NEW genotypes? Explain.

5-Recognize the Role of Evolution in Biological Resistance

  1. How has the use of pesticides and antibiotics caused evolution in some species? Explain and give examples.

Evolution Reading Questions

4- Relate Natural Selection to Changes in Organisms

  1. What is a key to Darwin’s theory of organisms struggling for existence?
  2. What causes gene pools to change over time?
  3. Fill in the following chart.

Type of Selection / Description of what happens
Stabilizing
Directional
Diversifying
Disruptive
Balancing
  1. Does the strongest, biggest, and most aggressive animal always have the highest fitness rating? Explain your answer.
  2. Does natural selection produce NEW genotypes? Explain.

5-Recognize the Role of Evolution in Biological Resistance

  1. How has the use of pesticides and antibiotics caused evolution in some species? Explain and give examples.