AP Bio Study Guide

Big Idea 1

The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life.

A: Change in the genetic makeup of a population over time is evolution.

What are the main principles of Darwin's theory of natural selection?

What is evolutionary fitness?

Why is genetic variation an advantage for a population?

What factors preserve genetic variation?

What are the conditions for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?

What are examples of evidence for evolution?

What is genetic drift?

How do humans impact variation in other species?

What is natural selection?

D: The origin of living systems is explained by natural processes.

What is the RNA World hypothesis?

How could organic molecules have formed from inorganic materials on Earth?

C: Life continues to evolve within a changing environment.

What is speciation and how does it take place?

How is a species defined?

B: Organisms are linked by lines of descent from common ancestry.

What are phylogenic trees?