Download Unit 11 Evolution Warm ups

Evolution Warm-ups
Day 1
1. What type of dating is shown to the right? _______________
2. Which fossils are older and how can you tell?
3. If a paleontologist finds fossils of many different species existing in the same area at
approximately the same time, the paleontologist can conclude that the ecosystem in this
area had a high degree of
a. climatic variation
c. biological diversity
b. episodic speciation
d. geographic isolation
4. According to this information, which
group demonstrated the greatest biodiversity during the Cretaceous period?
a. dinosaurs
b. crocodilians
c. snakes
d. lizards
Day 2
1. In a population of moths, wing color became darker over time. Which of the following is the best evidence that the
change in wing color was an evolutionary change?
a. The size of the moth population changed
b. The average length of the moths’ dark wings increased
c. The number of eggs that females laid during each breeding season increased
d. The frequencies of the alleles for dark wing color in the moth population changed
2. Which of these would have the least effect on natural selection in a subspecies of giraffes that is geographically isolated from
other subspecies of giraffes?
a. available niches
b. existing predators
c. chromosome number
d. available food resources
3. Which of these best illustrates natural selection?
a. An organism with favorable genetic variations will tend to survive and breed successfully
b. A population monopolizes all of the resources in its habitat, forcing other species to migrate
c. A community whose members work together utilizes all existing resources and migratory routes
d. The largest organisms in a species receive the only breeding opportunities
4. A species of finch has been studied on one of the geographically isolated Galapagos Islands for many years. Since the island
is small, the lineage of every bird for several generations is known. This allows a family tree of each bird to be developed.
Some family groups have survived and others have died out. The groups that survive probably have
a. interbred with other species
c. inherited some advantageous variations
b. found new places on the island to live
d. been attacked by more predators
Day 3
This diagram represents the bone structures of the front limbs of four different animals
1. What do the similarities of the structures suggest about these organisms?
a. They grow at the same rate
b. They live in the same environment
c. They live for the same length of time
d. They evolved from a common ancestor
2. The different species of Hawaiian honeycreepers shown all descended from a
single species of North American bird. They now have different beaks, eat different
foods, sing different songs, and live in different environments on the islands. Which
factor probably contributed most to the development of these different species?
a. Loss of habitat
c. Egg size
b. Geographic isolation
d. Predation
3. An early biological theory stated that a change in a population can occur when
organisms with favorable variations for a particular environment survive and pass
these variations on to the next generation. This theory is better known as the
Theory of —
a. Natural Selection
c. Variation and Adaptation
b. Punctuated Selection
d. Acquired Characteristics
Day 4
The following section focuses on different lemur species of Madagascar.
Read the information below and use it to answer the four multiple-choice questions and one open-response question
that follow.
Madagascar is an island located off the east coast of Africa, as shown on the map to the right.
Madagascar has a unique animal community. Lemurs are one of the animal groups that have
diversified extensively on Madagascar. Lemurs are primates, which is an order of mammals that
also includes monkeys and apes. Lemur species vary widely in habitat, diet, size, and color.
Lemurs only live on the island of Madagascar. However, fossil evidence shows that lemur
ancestors existed on Africa’s mainland. Scientists hypothesize that lemur ancestors reached
Madagascar by floating across the Mozambique Channel on matted clumps of vegetation.
1. Lemur body types can vary widely. In addition to fossils and comparative anatomy, which
of the following types of evidence can scientists reliably use to study the evolution of the variety of lemur body types?
a. Lifespan
b. population sizes
c. DNA sequences
d. male-to-female ratio
2. There are at least 88 species of lemurs in existence today. Which of the following conditions most likely existed and
made it possible for Madagascar’s original lemur ancestors to evolve into many species on the island?
a. presence of a deadly virus that infected only lemurs
b. complete isolation from other small mammal species
c. new niches to adapt to in the absence of a large number of competitors
d. climatic conditions that were very different from those on mainland Africa
3. Which of the following statements best explains why geographic isolation can lead to speciation?
a. Physical separation of populations reduces competition for each group
b. Physical separation of populations prevents interbreeding and mixing of gene pools
c. Physical separation of populations provides more space for each group’s size to increase
d. Physical separation of populations stresses the organisms and causes mutations in their genetic code
4. A small portion of a population that is geographically isolated from the rest of the population runs the risk of decreased
a. genetic drift
b. mutation rate
c. natural selection
d. genetic variation
5. A small population of chimpanzees lives in a habitat that undergoes no changes for a long period. How will genetic drift
probably affect this population?
a. It will accelerate the appearance of new traits
b. It will promote the survival of chimpanzees with beneficial traits
c. It will increase the number of alleles for specific traits
d. It will reduce genetic diversity