Evolution Practice Questions

1) Does evolution happen randomly? Explain why or why not.

2) Where does all of our different alleles originate from?

3) In the Hardy-Weinberg equation what does each piece represent?

4) In a population of 638 fish that either have a blue fin or brown fin, there are 120 brown fin fish. The blue fin allele is dominant to the brown fin allele. Based on the Hardy-Wienberg equation, how many brown alleles are there in total in the gene pool?

5) If the same population of fish from the previous question reproduce and the next generation is 1020 fish which has 120 brown fin fish what percentage should be carriers for the brown fin allele? How many fish would have blue fins?

6) If that same fish population has a 3rd generation of 1004 fish with 95 brown fin fish, how many blue fin alleles in total are in this new generation?

7) If the same fish population now had a 4th generation of 1200 fish with 75 brown fin fish, could we say that evolution is happening? Why or why not? Graph the four generations. If evolution is happening explain what mode of selection is happening. Why do you think there are blue fined fish and brown fined fish in this population?

8) A friend of yours does not believe in evolution. They say that there is no way all these different animals evolved by chance. They also tell you that if evolution were true we would find transition animals (an animal that is in between two animals. Like a fish-lizard or lizard-bird) They say we have not yet found any transition animals to prove evolution. Then they tell you that evolution is just a theory. Your job is to convince them that evolution is true. In your argument use as many evolutionary terms and concepts from class as you can. (15pts)

9) Why do humans have a tailbone if we do not have tails?

10) In order for a population to be in a Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium these 5 conditions must apply

1) No mutations

2) Random Mating

3) No natural Selection

4) Extremely Large Population Size

5) No Gene Flow

Explain why the opposite of each of these conditions leads to evolution

11) A shark is a fish and a dolphin is a mammal. Why is it that they have very similar body shapes? Did they evolve from a recent common ancestor?

12) In order for one species to evolve into two species what must occur?

13) If a man and a woman spend all day, every day running, will their children be faster than if they hadnt been runners? Why or why not?