Classification and Evolution

Question 1

prokaryotes

Answer 1

cells lack certain
internal structures, including a nucleus to house their genetic material

Question 2

eukarya

Answer 2

contains all other known organisms

Question 3

taxonomic groups

Answer 3

groupings of organisms which contains numerous subordinate groups

Question 4

taxonomy

Answer 4

the study of the composition of and relationships between taxonomic groups

Question 5

species

Answer 5

a group of individuals that can interbreed

Question 6

phylogeny

Answer 6

the tree of life with many branches, but no central trunk

Question 7

clade

Answer 7

a cluster of species that share an ancestry

Question 8

ancestral

Answer 8

appearing early in the group’s evolutionary history

Question 9

derived

Answer 9

having evolved later and occurring in only some of the subgroups

Question 10

cladogram

Answer 10

a diagram depicting the relative phylogenetic positions of the various taxa in a group

Question 11

adaptations

Answer 11

specialized features of animals and plants that perform one or more useful functions

Question 12

vestigial organs

Answer 12

organs that serve no apparent purpose but resemble organs that do perform functions in other species

Question 13

natural selection

Answer 13

a process that operates in nature but parallels the artificial selection by which breeders develop new varieties of domestic animals and plants for human use

Question 14

particulate inheritance

Answer 14

the idea that certain hereditary factors, which we now call genes, retain their identities while being passed on from parents to offspring

Question 15

horizontal gene transfer

Answer 15

a phenomenon wherein an organism sometimes transfers genetic material to another organism that is not its immediate descendant

Question 16

regulatory genes

Answer 16

genes that exert a powerful influence over the development of all organisms

Question 17

hox genes

Answer 17

a distinctive group of regulatory genes that act like master switches during development

Question 18

gene pool

Answer 18

the sum total of the genetic components of a population, or group of interbreeding individuals

Question 19

speciation

Answer 19

the origin of a new species from a preexisting one

Question 20

genetic drift

Answer 20

a result of such random changes in a gene pool

Question 21

extinction

Answer 21

millions of species have disappeared from Earth

Question 22

pseudoextinction

Answer 22

species disappearing by evolving to the point at which they have been formally recognized as different species

Question 23

mass extinctions

Answer 23

large numbers of genera, families, and even higher taxonomic groups vanishing

Question 24

evolution

Answer 24

biological or behavior changes through time

Question 25

homologous traits

Answer 25

traits that have similar form and function which reveals a common ancestry

Question 26

classification

Answer 26

the grouping of organisms based on similarities and differences. Anatomical and behavior traits.

Question 27

analogous trait

Answer 27

different form but same function

Question 28

convergent evolution

Answer 28

traits of distantly related organisms that serve the same purpose and have similar forms

Question 29

taxonomy

Answer 29

a type of classification system that indicates degrees of relatedness

Question 30

phylogeny

Answer 30

ancestors and descendants through time.

Question 31

how are things classified?

Answer 31

according to their properties

Question 32

scientific names

Answer 32

limit confusion and free people from using local names or nicknames

Question 33

taxon

Answer 33

a group of organisms related to each other

Question 34

hierarchy of taxonomic groups

Answer 34

1. kingdom 2. phylum 3. class 4. order 5. family 6. genus 7. species

Question 35

human taxonomy

Answer 35

1. animalia 2. chordata 3. mammalia 4. primates 5. hominidae 6. homo 7. sapiens

Question 36

what do we do with these traits?

Answer 36

We define evolutionary relationships with these traits

Question 37

homoplasy

Answer 37

different species may gain nearly identical traits independent from one another

Question 38

how do we define evolutionary relationships>

Answer 38

We define these relationships based on biological and behavioral traits

Question 39

90 million years ago

Answer 39

last common ancestor of all primates

Question 40

25 million years ago

Answer 40

last common ancestor for apes and monkeys

Question 41

7 million years ago

Answer 41

last common ancestor of chimps and humans

Question 42

oviparous

Answer 42

egg-laying mammals

Question 43

viviparous

Answer 43

give birth to live young.