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UPPCS Biology Gap Sheet: Biology Branches, Taxonomy and Evolution.
UPPCS has asked 18 of these. 4 have not been asked yet. Lock the first list, then read the second: it holds what UPPCS has not used yet.
First, the concept
A branch of biology is defined by what it studies. Classification groups organisms by shared characters; each lower rank contains a smaller, more similar set.
Evolution changes inherited traits in populations over generations. Mutation creates variation, while selection and genetic drift change its frequency. Similar appearance alone does not prove close ancestry.
✅ Already asked (18)
Fields of study
- Herpetology · Studies reptiles and amphibians.
- Gerontology · Studies ageing and old age; geriatrics concerns care of older people.
- Ethology · Studies animal behaviour.
- Palaeontology · Studies ancient life through fossils.
- Viticulture · Cultivation of grapes; sericulture is silkworm rearing.
- Oncology · Studies tumours and cancer.
- Teratology · Studies abnormal embryonic development and birth defects.
Classification rules
- Binomial nomenclature · Genus first, species epithet second; genus starts with a capital letter.
- Three domains · Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya; Archaea are distinct from bacteria.
- Prokaryotic cyanobacteria · Blue-green algae have no membrane-bound nucleus or chloroplasts.
- Viruses outside cellular kingdoms · Acellular; multiply only inside suitable host cells.
Mechanisms and evidence
- Natural selection · Heritable variants with greater reproductive success become more common.
- Mutation theory · De Vries linked evolution to mutations; modern evolution also includes selection and drift.
- Chemical origin of life · Oparin–Haldane proposed chemical evolution before the first cells.
- Miller–Urey experiment · Produced organic molecules under simulated early-Earth conditions, not living cells.
- Homologous organs · Same basic origin, different functions: human arm and whale flipper.
- Mesozoic dinosaurs · Dinosaurs dominated much of the Mesozoic; earliest mammals appeared in the Triassic.
- Vertebrate sequence · Fish preceded amphibians; reptiles preceded birds.
❌ Not asked yet (4)
🔒 4 items not asked yet
Classification rules: 1 · Mechanisms and evidence: 3
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⚠️ Acquired muscles are not inherited as stronger muscles; natural selection acts on existing heritable variation.
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