Option+D+-+Evolution

__ **Option D: Evolution** __ D.1.1 Describe four processes needed for the spontaneous origin of life on Earth. D.1.2 Outline the experiments of Miller and Urey into the origin of organic compounds. D.1.3 State that comets may have delivered organic compounds to Earth. D.1.4 Discuss possible locations where conditions would have allowed the synthesis of organic compounds. D.1.5 Outline two properties of RNA that would have allowed it to play a role in the origin of life. D.1.6 State that living cells may have been preceded by protobionts, with an internal chemical environment different from their surroundings. D.1.7 Outline the contribution of prokaryotes to the creation of an oxygen-rich atmosphere. D.1.8 Discuss the endosymbiotic theory for the origin of eukaryotes. D.2.1 Define allele frequency and gene pool. D.2.2 State that evolution involves a change in allele frequency in a population’s gene pool over a number of generations. D.2.3 Discuss the definition of the term species. D.2.4 Describe three examples of barriers between gene pools. D.2.5 Explain how polyploidy can contribute to speciation. D.2.6 Compare allopatric and sympatric speciation. D.2.7 Outline the process of adaptive radiation. D.2.8 Compare convergent and divergent evolution. D.2.9 Discuss ideas on the pace of evolution, including gradualism and punctuated equilibrium. D.2.10 Describe one example of transient polymorphism. D.2.11 Describe sickle-cell anemia as an example of balanced polymorphism. D.3.1 Outline the method for dating rocks and fossils using radioisotopes, with reference to 14C and 40K. D.3.2 Define half-life. D.3.3 Deduce the approximate age of materials based on a simple decay curve for a radioisotope. D.3.4 Describe the major anatomical features that define humans as primates. D.3.5 Outline the trends illustrated by the fossils of Ardipithecus ramidus, Australopithecus including A. afarensis and A. africanus, and Homo including H. habilis, H. erectus, H. neanderthalensis and H. sapiens. D.3.6 State that, at various stages in hominid evolution, several species may have coexisted. D.3.7 Discuss the incompleteness of the fossil record and the resulting uncertainties about human evolution. D.3.8 Discuss the correlation between the change in diet and increase in brain size during hominid evolution. D.3.9 Distinguish between genetic and cultural evolution. D.3.10 Discuss the relative importance of genetic and cultural evolution in the recent evolution of humans. D.4.1 Explain how the Hardy–Weinberg equation is derived. D.4.2 Calculate allele, genotype and phenotype frequencies for two alleles of a gene, using the Hardy–Weinberg equation. D.4.3 State the assumptions made when the Hardy–Weinberg equation is used. D.5.1 Outline the value of classifying organisms. D.5.2 Explain the biochemical evidence provided by the universality of DNA and protein structures for the common ancestry of living organisms. D.5.3 Explain how variations in specific molecules can indicate phylogeny. D.5.4 Discuss how biochemical variations can be used as an evolutionary clock. D.5.5 Define clade and cladistics. D.5.6 Distinguish, with examples, between analogous and homologous characteristics. D.5.7 Outline the methods used to construct cladograms and the conclusions that can be drawn from them. D.5.8 Construct a simple cladogram. D.5.9 Analyse cladograms in terms of phylogenetic relationships. D.5.10 Discuss the relationship between cladograms and the classification of living organisms.