Evolution and Natural Selection Take-Home QUIZ (2014)

Evolution and Natural Selection Take-Home QUIZ (2014)

Evolution and Natural Selection Take-Home QUIZ (2014)

Multiple Choice

Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

Chapter 16: Darwin’s Theory of Evolution

____1.The species of finches that Charles Darwin found on different Galápagos Islands varied in certain structural adaptations. One of the most significant adaptations that Darwin noted was the

a. / similarities of the birds’ embryos.
b. / birds’ different-shaped beaks.
c. / length of the birds’ necks.
d. / number of eggs in each bird’s nest.

____2.Biologists in Darwin’s time had already begun to understand that living things change over time. How did Darwin contribute to these ideas?

a. / He found many fossils that showed that these changes could not possibly happen on islands.
b. / He figured out and explained how these changes happened and supported his ideas with evidence.
c. / He made guesses about how these changes happened, and wrote experiments that could be used to test these guesses.
d. / He was the first person to truly believe that these changes happened, and he worked very hard to convince others.

____3.On the Galápagos Islands, Charles Darwin observed

a. / completely unrelated species on each of the islands.
b. / species exactly like those found in South America.
c. / species similar to mainland South American species.
d. / species completely unrelated to those found in South America.

____4.Which of the following ideas is supported by Darwin’s observation of local variation among tortoises in the Galápagos Islands?

a. / artificial selection
b. / adaptation
c. / acquired characteristics
d. / tendency towards perfection

____5.Darwin first began to formulate his concept of evolution by natural selection after

a. / experimenting with animals.
b. / observing patterns among the geographical location of certain species.
c. / reading the writings of Wallace.
d. / agreeing with Lamarck about the driving force behind evolution.

____6.People of Charles Darwin’s time understood that fossils were

a. / preserved remains of ancient organisms.
b. / available for every organism that ever lived.
c. / unrelated to living species.
d. / evidence for the evolution of life on Earth.

____7.James Hutton’s and Charles Lyell’s work suggests that

a. / Earth is several million years old.
b. / Earth is several thousand years old.
c. / all fossils were formed in the last 1000 years.
d. / all rocks on Earth contain fossils.

____8.One scientist who attempted to explain how rock formations, such as rock layers, form and change over time was

a. / Thomas Malthus.
b. / James Hutton.
c. / Charles Darwin.
d. / Jean-Baptiste Lamarck.

____9.James Hutton’s and Charles Lyell’s work was important to Darwin because these scientists

a. / explained volcanoes and earthquakes.
b. / explained all geologic events on Earth.
c. / suggested that Earth was old enough for evolution to have occurred.
d. / refuted the work of Lamarck, which was based on misunderstandings.

____10.What did Charles Darwin learn from reading the work of James Hutton and Charles Lyell?

a. / Earth is relatively young.
b. / Gradual change operating over long periods of time can result in dramatic changes.
c. / All geological change is caused by living organisms.
d. / The processes that formed old rocks on Earth do not operate today.

____11.Lamarck’s ideas about evolution include the concept that differences among the traits of organisms arise as a result of

a. / continual increases in population size.
b. / the actions of organisms as they use or fail to use body structures.
c. / an unchanging local environment.
d. / the natural variations already present within the population of organisms.

____12.The economist Thomas Malthus suggested that

a. / in the human population, people die faster than babies are born.
b. / without certain checks on population size, there would soon be insufficient food for the growing human population.
c. / in the 1700s, England needed more housing.
d. / the majority of a species’ offspring die.

____13.Darwin realized that the economist Malthus’s theory of population control

a. / applied only to humans.
b. / could be generalized to any population of organisms.
c. / could be generalized only when populations lived in crowded conditions.
d. / explained why the number of deaths exceeded that of births.

____14.When a farmer breeds only his or her best livestock, the process involved is

a. / natural selection.
b. / artificial selection.
c. / artificial variation.
d. / survival of the fittest.

____15.Which statement about the members of a population that live long enough to reproduce is consistent with the theory of evolution by natural selection?

a. / They transmit characteristics acquired by use and disuse to their offspring.
b. / They tend to produce fewer offspring than others in the population.
c. / They are the ones that are best adapted to survive in their environment.
d. / They will perpetuate unfavorable changes in the species.

____16.Charles Darwin called the ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its specific environment

a. / diversity.
b. / fitness.
c. / adaptation.
d. / evolution.

____17.According to Darwin’s theory of natural selection, the individuals that tend to survive are those that have

a. / characteristics their parents acquired by use and disuse.
b. / characteristics that plant and animal breeders value.
c. / the greatest number of offspring.
d. / variations best suited to environmental conditions.

____18.Which of the following phrases best describes the results of natural selection?

a. / the natural variation found in all populations
b. / unrelated species living in different locations
c. / changes in the inherited characteristics of a population over time
d. / the struggle for existence undergone by all living things

____19.The hypothesis that all species are descended from common ancestors was proposed by

a. / James Hutton.
b. / Jean-Baptiste Lamarck.
c. / Thomas Malthus.
d. / Charles Darwin.

____20.Biogeography is the study of

a. / where species and their ancestors live.
b. / how extinct species can be related to living species.
c. / how different species can interbreed.
d. / how animals that live in the same area are closely related.

____21.Charles Darwin viewed the fossil record as

a. / evidence that Earth was thousands of years old.
b. / useful support for his theory.
c. / interesting but unrelated to the evolution of modern species.
d. / evidence that traits are acquired through use or disuse.

Figure 16–1

____22.In humans, the pelvis and femur, or thigh bone, are involved in walking. In whales, the pelvis and femur shown in Figure 16–1 are

a. / examples of fossils.
b. / vestigial structures.
c. / acquired traits.
d. / examples of natural variation.

____23.Molecular evidence in support of natural selection includes

a. / the nearly universal genetic code.
b. / the presence of vestigial structures.
c. / a tendency toward perfect, unchanging DNA in various species.
d. / the transmission of acquired characteristics by DNA.

____24.Similar patterns of embryological development in different but related organisms are responsible for the formation of

a. / homologous structures.
b. / analogous structures.
c. / Hox genes.
d. / intermediate fossil forms.

____25.Which characteristic of Galápagos finches helped the Grants show the results of natural selection?

a. / the color of their feathers
b. / the length and shape of their wings
c. / the size and shape of their beaks
d. / the curve of their claws

____26.What principle does the Grants’ investigation of finch adaptation in the Galápagos Islands best support?

a. / biogeography
b. / evolutionary embryology
c. / uniformatarianism
d. / natural selection

Chapter 17: Evolution of Populations

____27.The genes carried by all members of a particular population make up the population’s

a. / allele frequency.
b. / phenotype.
c. / genotype.
d. / gene pool.

____28.Natural selection acts directly on

a. / alleles.
b. / genes.
c. / phenotypes.
d. / mutations.

____29.Sexual reproduction among members of a population results in

a. / different types of alleles in the gene pool.
b. / changes in the allele frequencies in the gene pool.
c. / no changes in the allele frequencies in the gene pool.
d. / an absence of genetic variation in the population.

____30.A change in the genetic material of a cell is called a

a. / recombination.
b. / polygenic trait.
c. / single-gene trait.
d. / mutation.

____31.Three sources of genetic variation are

a. / genotypes, phenotypes, and polygenic traits.
b. / sexual reproduction, lateral gene transfer, and mutations.
c. / single-gene traits, polygenic traits, and adaptation.
d. / directional selection, disruptive selection, and stabilizing selection.

____32.Genetic recombination includes the independent movement of chromosomes during meiosis as well as

a. / mutations from radiation.
b. / changes in the allele frequencies.
c. / crossing-over.
d. / mutations from chemicals.

____33.The number of phenotypes produced for a given trait depends upon

a. / the number of genes that control the trait.
b. / which form of the trait is dominant.
c. / the allele frequencies of the various alleles.
d. / the relationship of allele frequencies to Mendelian ratios.

____34.The frequency of phenotypes for a typical polygenic trait is most often illustrated as

a. / a scatter plot.
b. / a bell-shaped curve.
c. / a pie chart.
d. / a histogram.

Figure 17–1

____35.One end of Figure 17–1 shows an increase in average beak size for a population of birds. When individuals at only one end of a bell curve of phenotype frequencies have high fitness, the result is

a. / directional selection.
b. / stabilizing selection.
c. / disruptive selection.
d. / genetic drift.

Figure 17–2

____36.Figure 17–2 shows highest fitness toward the center of the curve. When individuals with an average form of a trait have the highest fitness, the result is

a. / not predictable.
b. / disruptive selection.
c. / directional selection.
d. / stabilizing selection.

Figure 17–3

____37.Figure 17–3 shows smaller and larger beaks in a population of finches. One group of birds has a short, parrotlike beak and another group has a long, narrow beak. What process has probably occurred?

a. / directional selection
b. / disruptive selection
c. / stabilizing selection
d. / genetic drift

____38.In genetic drift, the allele frequencies in a gene pool change because of

a. / mutations.
b. / chance.
c. / natural selection.
d. / genetic equilibrium.

____39.Genetic drift tends to occur in populations that

a. / are very large.
b. / are small.
c. / are formed from new species.
d. / have unchanging allele frequencies.

____40.The type of genetic drift that follows the colonization of a new habitat by a small group of individuals is called

a. / the Hardy-Weinberg principle.
b. / the founder effect.
c. / directional selection.
d. / stabilizing selection.

____41.According to the Hardy-Weinberg principle, genetic equilibrium would be more likely in a population of mice if

a. / the population size rapidly decreases.
b. / mutation rates within the population rise.
c. / no natural selection takes place.
d. / there is frequent movement into and out of the population.

____42.A factor that is necessary for the formation of a new species is

a. / reproduction at different times.
b. / geographic barriers.
c. / different mating behaviors.
d. / reproductive isolation.

____43.Which of the following statements defines the members of a species?

a. / They are temporally isolated from each other.
b. / They are geographically isolated from each other.
c. / They mate and produce offspring.
d. / They have identical genes.

____44.The geographic isolation of two populations of a species tends to increase differences between their gene pools because it

a. / prevents interbreeding between the populations.
b. / prevents interbreeding within each population.
c. / causes temporal isolation of the two populations.
d. / increases differences in courtship behavior.

____45.The Galápagos finch species are an excellent example of

a. / speciation.
b. / genetic equilibrium.
c. / stabilizing selection.
d. / selection on single-gene traits.

Science Skills: Chapter 16

Figure 16–2

46.Interpret Visuals What adaptation is apparent in the bodies of the three tortoise species shown in Figure 16–2?

a. shell color and shell shapec. neck length and skin texture

b. shell shape and neck lengthd. skin texture and shell color

47.Interpret Visuals Which of the tortoises shown in Figure 16–2 has the longest neck and is found on which island?

a. Isabelab. Pintac. Hoodd. all necks are the same

Science Skills: Chapter 17

Figure 17–6

48.Interpret Graphs What is the independent variable shown about the frog species on the graph in Figure 17–6.

a. mating activityb. type of frogc. time of year

49.Interpret Graphs What is the dependent variable shown about the frog species on the graph in Figure 17–6.

a. mating activityb. type of frogc. time of year

50.Interpret Graphs Describe the trend on the graph in Figure 17–6.

a. Figure 17–6 shows the times of mating activity for seven species of frogs. Four of the species mate in the spring. The other three species mate in the summer.

b. Figure 17–6 shows the times of mating activity for seven species of frogs. Most of the frogs mate in late summer or early fall.

c. Figure 17–6 shows the times of mating activity for seven species of frogs. All of the frogs mate before the start of summer.

d. Figure 17–6 shows the times of mating activity for seven species of frogs. Four of the species mate in the winter while the other species vary the time when they mate.