Exercise 11: Evidences of Evolution Take-Home Quiz (2 points each)

1. Define the following terms in your own words:

a. Evolution: the change in genotype and phenotype of a population caused by genetic variation
throughout time. Evolution can happen in many ways such as mutations, changes in the nucleotides that
give rise to new alleles. Other forms include gene duplication, genetic drift, and gene flow. Contributing
factors of evolution like natural selection increase allele frequencies that provide reproductive
advantages leading to adaptive evolution.

b. Natural Selection: the survival and reproduction of individuals who possess certain traits that deem
them suitable to survive in an environment. Natural selection consists of new genetic variations arising
by chance, the beneficial alleles are then sorted and favored by natural selection. Natural selection is
the only mechanism to consistently increase adaptive evolution by acting on an organism’s phenotype
favoring certain genotypes.

2. Which event occurred first in the earth’s history? Use the timeline presented in your lab manual.

a. Photosynthesis or eukaryotic cells?

Photosynthesis occurred first.

b. Vertebrate animals or flowering plants?

Vertebrate animals occurred first.

c. Extinction of dinosaurs or origin of hominids?

Extinction of dinosaurs occurred first.

3. Describe the primitive characteristics that are visible in the skull pictured in your lab manual post-lab
question #4?

a.) As Australis afarensis evolved we can quickly notice the ratio of skull to face drastically changes. The
primitive skull consists of a small cranium, and smaller/ receding forehead as opposed to the more
advanced skull which contains a larger prominent vertical forehead and a larger cranium. The early
primitive also has larger teeth while the advanced skull contain smaller less specialized teeth. The jaw of
the primitive skull appears to be larger and longer while the advanced skull has a shorter jaw and
muzzle. The nose bone from the earlier primitive is shorter and less protruded as opposed to the more
advanced skull who sticks out more and contains a bridge shape. Lastly, the primitive skull has
prominent eyebrow ridges and cranial ridge while the eyebrow ridge is hardly noticeable in the more
advanced skull and lacks the keel all together.
4. Describe three anatomical changes in the skull that occurred in human evolution between a
Dryopithecus-like ancestor and Homo sapiens.

The first obvious anatomical change in the skull that occurred in human evolution between a
Drypithecus-like ancestor and Homo sapiens is the change between longer jaws with sharp canines and
long molars seen before as opposed to H. sapiens who contain teeth and non-sharp canines. The
Dryopithecus also had a smaller cranium compared to that of the H. sapiens. Lastly, the Dryopithecus’s
occiput was longer and protruded downwards while H. sapiens had a larger more vertical skull.

5. Why was the development of bipedalism a major advancement in human evolution? (What further
evolutionary human physical characteristics developed after bipedalism had evolved and why?)

The development of bipedalism was a major advancement in human evolution because it allowed for
energy conservation which resulted in the ability to travel longer distances. Bipedalism also meant
human ancestors were able to use their hands for things such as tools and hunting. Bipedalism led to a
few other important human evolutions such as flatter feet in order to support the entire weight of the
human body, longer legs for better walking, and shorter arms because they were no longer necessary
for swinging in trees.