Problem 1: Explain Lamarck's hypothesis of evolution. What was the mechanism for evolution? Use an example if this is helpful to you.
Problem 2: Explain how natural selection works. What are the key features, observations, and inferences of natural selection? Be sure to explain how Darwin's concept of descent with modification (natural selection) incorporates his three observations of life on our planet: the unity of life, the diversity of life, and organisms match their environment.
Problem 3: You find a fossil of an extinct mammal that lived high in the Rocky Mountains. Would that animal more closely resemble present day mammals that live on the grasslands of North America or present-day mammals that live high in the Alps of Europe? Explain.
Problem 4: Explain how the following statement is inaccurate: "antibiotics have created drug resistance in MRSA."
Problem 5: Decide whether each of the following pairs of structures more likely represents analogy or homology, and explain your reasoning: a. A porcupine's quills and a cactus's spines, b. A cat's paw and a human's hand, c. An owl's wing and a hornet's wing.
Problem 6: Suppose that two species, A and B, have similar appearances, but very different gene sequences, whiles species B and C have very different appearances but similar gene sequences. Which pair of species is more likely to be closely related: A and B, or B and C. Explain?
Problem 7: What is convergent evolution, what is the driving force behind it, and why does analogy and convergent evolution complicate phylogenetic relationships? Give an example to highlight each aspect of your answer.
Problem 8: The most parsimonious tree of evolutionary relationships can be inaccurate? How can this occur?
Problem 9: What is a molecular clock? What assumptions underlie the use of molecular clocks?