Assignment
I. Proteins will fold into a complex shape as they are synthesized. Why is the structure of a protein so important?
II. What are the similarities and the differences between DNA and RNA?
III. What does it mean when a gene is expressed?
IV. How are mutations involved in evolution?
V. Does evolutionary pressure work on the genotype or the phenotype? Discuss your reasoning.
VI. Pick one of the frequency-altering factors mentioned and discuss how it causes allele frequencies to differ from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.
VII. Why would a population bottleneck be problematic for a species?
VIII. What is the primary difference between genetic drift and natural selection as mechanisms of evolution?
IX. What is the risk when close relatives produce offspring together? Discuss how this may happen.
X. Why would speciation (origination of a new species) be more likely to take place among a population of lizards than a population of wolves that occupy the same size area?
XI. Using the description of two traits, which one is quantitative, and what information did you use to determine that?
Trait 1: a species of mouse has either a black or white coat determined by alleles on a particular gene.
Trait 2: a species of mouse may have a white to dark brown coat with shades in between. The coat color varies depending on whether it was born in the spring or summer.
XII. Variance is due to genetic differences and environmental conditions during development. Which of these allows a population to respond to selection pressures and evolve? Explain the reason.
XIII. Many people credit Darwin with a theory of Evolution. This is inaccurate. He developed the theory of Natural Selection. How are the two concepts linked?
XIV. In this example, which of the selection types (directional, stabilizing, disruptive) will have the greatest effect?
A type of fish has a range of body sizes. It is the favorite prey of another carnivorous fish. The larger body size of the prey fish is almost as large as the predator fish and can be hard for the predator to subdue. The smaller body size of the prey fish is good at finding hiding places among weeds and rocks and escapes notice by the predator. The medium body size prey fish are too small to resist the predator and too large to hide successfully. Therefore, the medium size prey fish are eaten more frequently.
XV. Phenotypic plasticity is not evolutionary change. Briefly explain this sentence.