Chapter 8 Launchpad
The appropriate unit for defining and measuring genetic variation is the - correct answer ✔✔population
Define adaptation - correct answer ✔✔refers both to the processes by which organisms become better
matched to their environment and to the features of an organism that make it more fit than other
individuals
Why is the fossil record an incomplete record? - correct answer ✔✔1. the soft parts of an organism
almost always decay rapidly and completely after death
2. only a few environments demonstrate reduced forces of decomposition resulting in the preservation
of the organism's hard parts (i.e., teeth, bones)
What do you need to establish to prove that natural selection is operating in a population? - correct
answer ✔✔1. variability for a trait
2. heritability of that trait
3. differential reproductive success based on that trait
radiometric dating is useful in conjunction with the study of the fossil record because: - correct answer
✔✔it allows a determination not only of the relative ages of different fossils, but their absolute ages as
well
Which method is most likely to give rise to a large population of smaller-than-average dogs after 20
generations? - correct answer ✔✔1) start with a large population of dogs varying in sizes
2) when selecting the dogs to breed in order to generate a new generation, choose dogs in the lowest
20% in body size
3) repeat this for multiple generations
An organism's fitness is measured by: - correct answer ✔✔-relative to other genotypes/phenotypes in
the population
-only for a specific environment
The appropriate unit for defining and measuring genetic variation is the - correct answer ✔✔population
Define adaptation - correct answer ✔✔refers both to the processes by which organisms become better
matched to their environment and to the features of an organism that make it more fit than other
individuals
Why is the fossil record an incomplete record? - correct answer ✔✔1. the soft parts of an organism
almost always decay rapidly and completely after death
2. only a few environments demonstrate reduced forces of decomposition resulting in the preservation
of the organism's hard parts (i.e., teeth, bones)
What do you need to establish to prove that natural selection is operating in a population? - correct
answer ✔✔1. variability for a trait
2. heritability of that trait
3. differential reproductive success based on that trait
radiometric dating is useful in conjunction with the study of the fossil record because: - correct answer
✔✔it allows a determination not only of the relative ages of different fossils, but their absolute ages as
well
Which method is most likely to give rise to a large population of smaller-than-average dogs after 20
generations? - correct answer ✔✔1) start with a large population of dogs varying in sizes
2) when selecting the dogs to breed in order to generate a new generation, choose dogs in the lowest
20% in body size
3) repeat this for multiple generations
An organism's fitness is measured by: - correct answer ✔✔-relative to other genotypes/phenotypes in
the population
-only for a specific environment
