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OhioBiology

B.E: Evolution

5 dot points across 5 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What lines of evidence show that species share common ancestors?

Describe the lines of evidence for evolution and common ancestry, including the fossil record, comparative anatomy, embryology, biogeography, and molecular (DNA and protein) evidence (Ohio's Learning Standards for Science, Biology, B.E).
A standard-level answer on the evidence for evolution for Ohio's Biology EOC: the fossil record, homologous and vestigial structures, embryology, biogeography, and molecular evidence from DNA and proteins, and how each supports common ancestry.
14 min answer →

How does natural selection cause a population to change over time?

Explain how natural selection acts on heritable variation so that traits affecting survival and reproduction become more or less common in a population (Ohio's Learning Standards for Science, Biology, B.E.1).
A standard-level answer on natural selection for Ohio's Biology EOC: variation, heritability, overproduction, the struggle to survive, differential reproduction, and how adaptations build up in a population over generations.
14 min answer →

What large-scale patterns does evolution produce over time?

Describe patterns of evolution including divergent and convergent evolution, coevolution, adaptive radiation, and the pace of change (gradualism and punctuated equilibrium) (Ohio's Learning Standards for Science, Biology, B.E).
A standard-level answer on the patterns of evolution for Ohio's Biology EOC: divergent and convergent evolution, coevolution, adaptive radiation, and the pace of change described by gradualism and punctuated equilibrium.
14 min answer →

How do we measure whether a population is evolving?

Use allele and genotype frequencies, and the Hardy-Weinberg model, to describe how a gene pool stays constant or changes over time (Ohio's Learning Standards for Science, Biology, B.E.2).
A standard-level answer on population genetics for Ohio's Biology EOC: gene pools and allele frequencies, the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium model and its conditions, and how to use p and q to predict genotype frequencies and detect evolution.
14 min answer →

How does one species split into two separate species?

Explain how reproductive isolation leads to speciation, the formation of new species from an existing population (Ohio's Learning Standards for Science, Biology, B.E.2).
A standard-level answer on speciation for Ohio's Biology EOC: the biological species concept, geographic and reproductive isolation, how isolated populations diverge through selection and drift, and how new species form.
14 min answer →