Download Benchmark: Beaks of Finches

Name:
Date:
Benchmark: Beaks of Finches
1. Base your answer to the following question on the information below and on your knowledge of
biology.
The differences seen in the beaks of the four species of finches are most likely the result of
A) gene expression and asexual reproduction
C) migration and the need to adapt
B) variation and natural selection
D) heredity and a diet of seeds
2. Studies of the finches of the Galapagos Islands have shown that
A)
B)
C)
D)
DNA will change to produce structures needed by birds to survive intense competition
a bird’s beak changes annually in response to the type of food that is most abundant each year
natural selection occurs when there are scarce resources and intense competition
the beak of a finch will change if the environment of the bird remains stable
3. Base your answer to the following question on the data table below and on your knowledge of
biology.
Which two species would most likely be able to live in the same habitat without competing with each other
for food?
A) A and C
B) B and C
C) B and D
D) C and E
4. The different tools used during the beaks of finches lab represented
A) feeding adaptations in finches
C) variations in seed size
B) nest construction adaptations
D) variations in ecosystems
Period:
Date:
5. Base your answer to the following question on
the information and diagram below and on your knowledge of biology.
Finches on the Galapagos Islands are thought to have originated from South America and to
have evolved into new species over the last 10,000 years. Some of this evolution is represented in
the diagram below.
The seed-eating finch was most likely the
A) largest finch
C) parent of the other finches
B) common ancestor
D) most successful
6. Base your answer to the following question on the information below and on your knowledge of
biology.
Evolutionary changes have been observed in beak size in a population of medium ground finches
in the Galapagos Islands. Given a choice of small and large seeds, the medium ground finch eats
mostly small seeds, which are easier to crush. However, during dry years, all seeds are in short
supply. Small seeds are quickly consumed, so the birds are left with a diet of large seeds. Studies
have shown that this change in diet may be related to an increase in the average size of the beak of
the medium ground finch.
The most likely explanation for the increase in average beak size of the medium ground finch is that the
A)
B)
C)
D)
trait is inherited and birds with larger beaks have greater reproductive success
birds acquired larger beaks due to the added exercise of feeding on large seeds
birds interbred with a larger-beaked species and passed on the trait
lack of small seeds caused a mutation which resulted in a larger beak
Date:
Base your answers to questions 7 and 8 on the diagram below and on your knowledge of biology.
7. The only finch that is completely carnivorous has a beak adapted for
A) probing, only
C) probing and biting
B) probing and edge crushing
D) biting and edge crushing
8. Which two finches would compete the least for food?
A)
B)
C)
D)
small ground finch and large ground finch
large ground finch and sharp-billed ground finch
small tree finch and medium ground finch
vegetarian finch and small ground finch
Base your answers to questions 9 and 10 on the passage below and on your knowledge of biology.
When Charles Darwin traveled to the Galapagos Islands, he observed 14 distinct varieties of finches
on the islands. Darwin also observed that each finch variety ate a different type of food and lived in a
slightly different habitat from the other finches. Darwin concluded that the finches all shared a common
ancestor but had developed different beak structures.
9. The second sentence best describes
A) an ecosystem
C) a niche
B) a food web
D) a predator/prey relationship
10. The 14 varieties of finches are most likely the result of
A) absence of biodiversity
C) asexual reproduction
B) biological evolution
D) lack of competition