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Biology · Edexcel Paper 1

Evolution and Natural Selection

How Darwin and Wallace explained evolution, how natural selection works and why antibiotic resistance supports it, the fossil and stone tool evidence for human evolution, the pentadactyl limb, and how classification has changed from five kingdoms to three domains. Matches Edexcel 4.1B to 4.7. Every lesson is for both Combined Science and separate Biology at Foundation and Higher, except Darwin and Wallace and The Pentadactyl Limb, which are for separate Biology only.

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Key terms in this chapter

All 64, gathered from every lesson.

Evolution
The gradual change in the inherited characteristics of a species over many generations.
Natural selection
The process by which individuals with features that suit their environment survive and reproduce more than others.
Theory
An explanation, supported by evidence, that has been tested many times.
Species
A group of organisms that can breed together to produce fertile offspring.
Charles Darwin
The English naturalist who developed the theory of evolution by natural selection.
Alfred Russel Wallace
The naturalist who independently developed the idea of natural selection.
On the Origin of Species
The book that Darwin published in 1859, setting out the theory of evolution.
Common ancestor
A species from which two or more different species have evolved.
Creationism
The belief that each species was created separately and has not changed.
Natural selection
The process in which better adapted individuals survive and reproduce, passing on their alleles.
Adaptation
A feature that helps an organism to survive and reproduce in its environment.
Competition
The struggle between organisms for the same limited resources.
Survival of the fittest
The idea that the individuals best suited to their environment are the ones that survive and breed.
Evolution
The gradual change in the inherited characteristics of a population over many generations.
Speciation
The formation of a new species from an existing one.
Isolation
The separation of populations so that they cannot interbreed.
Camouflage
Coloration that helps an organism to blend in with its surroundings.
Predation
When one animal hunts and eats another.
Selection pressure
A factor in the environment that affects which individuals survive.
Antibiotic
A drug that kills bacteria or stops them from growing.
Antibiotic resistance
The ability of bacteria to survive an antibiotic that would normally kill them.
MRSA
A strain of bacteria that is resistant to many antibiotics, including methicillin.
Selection pressure
A factor, such as an antibiotic, that decides which individuals survive.
Strain
A genetic variety of a species of microorganism.
Pathogen
A microorganism that causes disease.
Resistant
Not affected by something, such as an antibiotic.
Course of treatment
The full set of doses that a doctor tells a patient to take.
Mutation
A random change in the DNA of an organism.
Fossil
The preserved remains or traces of an organism that lived long ago.
Hominid
A member of the group that includes humans and their ancestors, and the great apes.
Ardi
Ardipithecus ramidus, a hominid that lived about 4.4 million years ago.
Lucy
A fossil of Australopithecus afarensis from about 3.2 million years ago.
Homo erectus
An early human species that lived about 1.9 million years ago, with a large brain and a body like ours.
Bipedal
Walking upright on two legs.
Brain volume
The size of the brain, measured in cubic centimetres.
Common ancestor
A species from which two or more other species have evolved.
Dating
Working out how old a fossil or rock is.
Stone tool
A tool made by shaping stone, to give a sharp edge.
Oldowan
The oldest well-known stone tool culture, made up of simple choppers and flakes.
Hand axe
A symmetrical stone tool shaped on both sides, made by Homo erectus.
Layer of rock
A band of sediment that built up over time, so lower layers are older.
Volcanic ash
Material thrown out by a volcano, which forms layers that can be dated.
Radiocarbon dating
A method of dating organic remains, up to about 50 000 years old, by measuring carbon-14.
Dating
Working out how old something is.
Culture
The skills, ideas and behaviours that are passed on within a group.
Hominid
A member of the group that includes humans and their ancestors, and the great apes.
Pentadactyl limb
A limb with five digits, found in many vertebrates, with the same basic arrangement of bones.
Humerus
The bone of the upper limb.
Radius
One of the two bones in the lower limb.
Ulna
The other bone in the lower limb.
Carpals
The small bones of the wrist.
Digits
The fingers or toes.
Homologous structure
A structure with the same underlying arrangement in different species, inherited from a common ancestor.
Analogous structure
A structure with the same function in different species, but a different origin.
Divergent evolution
The evolution of different features in related species, so that they become less alike.
Classification
Sorting living things into groups according to their features and relationships.
Kingdom
One of the large groups into which living things were sorted, such as animals or plants.
Domain
One of the three largest groups of living things: Bacteria, Archaea and Eukaryota.
Archaea
A domain of single-celled prokaryotes, often found in extreme environments.
Bacteria
A domain of single-celled prokaryotes, with cell walls containing peptidoglycan.
Eukaryota
The domain of organisms whose cells have a nucleus.
Binomial name
The two-part Latin name of a species, such as Homo sapiens.
Genetic analysis
Comparing the base sequences of DNA or RNA of different species.
Prokaryote
An organism with cells that have no nucleus.