I EXAM ESSAYS
Boil 3306 Spring 2012
1)Does natural selection always result in evolution? In your answer, be sure to define natural selection and
evolution. If you answer yes, explain why this is the case. If you answer no, explain why and describe a
condition under which you can have natural selection with no resultant evolution.
2) Mutations can be beneficial, neutral, or deleterious. How would you design an experiment that would allow
you to determine the relative proportions of the different kinds of mutations in an organism? Explain what
data you would collect and how you would interpret the data. What results would you expect find?
3) to Imagine that you build a phylogeny to determine the relationships between species A, B, and C, and you
get the tree shown below. Explain: 1) why this tree is not helpful in determining those relationships, and 2)
one approach that you might take to try to make a phylogeny that is more helpful in determining the
relationships between those species.
4) Darwin considered the process of artificial selection as it operates during domestication when he was
developing his theory of evolution by natural selection. Describe two significant similarities and one major
difference between artificial selection and natural selection