Biology - Topic 4 - Natural Selection and Genetic Modification
No description yet. This curated deck is ready for daily study.
Card preview (24)
What is this a definition of: ‘A group of organisms that can reproduce with one another, producing offspring that can also reproduce’?
species
What is the scientific name for the modern human species?
Homo sapiens
From what type of creature are modern humans thought to have evolved?
apes
What are the remains of organisms that have been turned into rock called?
fossils
Sedimentary rock exists in layers, one of top of another. Which layers are the youngest?
upper (top) layers
Which substance did early human-like animals make tools out of?
wood, stone
Why do we only find the stone tools now?
the wooden ones have rotted away
Which of these three species is most closely related to modern humans and how can you tell:Homo habilisAustralopithecus afarensisArdipithecus ramidus ?
Homo habilis, because the first word of its scientific name is the same as that of modern humans.
On which continent are the oldest human-like fossils found?
Africa
What is this a definition of: ‘A gradual change in the characteristics of a species over time’?
evolution
Where does the evidence come from that humans evolved?
fossils, stone tools
Over how many years can scientists trace human evolution?
4-5 million years
Name one trend that has occurred in the bodies of human-like species as they have evolved over millions of years.
walking upright, feet with short toes, larger brains, flatter faces, taller skulls, etc.
What are the differences in characteristics between two organisms called?
variation
Suggest one reason why polar bears are better adapted than black bears to living in the Arctic.
they are white and so can avoid being seen against the snow by their prey
What is the name of the scientist who is most well known for developing a theory about evolution?
Charles Darwin
Some scientists think that a species called Homo heidelbergensis evolved into both Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens. What is a species that evolves into two species like this called?
common ancestor
What do we call the system of scientific naming for organisms?
binomial system
Suggest the environmental change that resulted in the evolution of African elephants’ large ears
increase in temperature
Suggest the environmental change that resulted in the evolution of woolly mammoths’ hairiness
decrease in temperature
A certain population of animals evolved long legs over a long period of time. Is this more likely to be due to an increase or decrease in the number of predators?
increase
What process does Darwin’s theory use to explain how evolution occurs?
natural selection
The binomial name for the African bush elephant is Loxodonta africana. What genus does it belong to?
Loxodonta
Elephants belong to the animal kingdom. What other kingdoms are there?
plants, fungi, protists/protoctists, bacteria (prokaryotes)