Download Principles of Biology 01:119:103

Introduction to Ecology & Evolution Sample Test
11:216:101 Midterm 1
1) Which of the following statement is the best definition of natural selection?
A) differential survival of individuals with certain advantageous traits
B) differential survival and reproduction of individuals with certain advantageous traits
C) survival of the fastest breeding individuals
D) survival of the largest and strongest individuals
E) None of the choices are correct,
2) Which of the following constitutes a definition of a species?
A) a group of individuals living in the same place at the same time
B) a group of populations whose individuals have the potential to interbreed and produce fertile offspring
C) the smallest unit that can engage in microevolution
D) a group of individuals who individuals have the potential to interbreed
E) a group of individuals who resemble each other, on average, more than they resemble anything else
3) A change in the relative frequencies of alleles in the gene pool of a population is called
A) diversifying selection
B) macroevolution
C) mutation,
D) directional selection.
E) genetic drift.
4) A population of 1,000 birds exists on a small Pacific island. Some of the birds are yellow, and others are green. A hurricane on the
island kills most of the birds from this population. Only ten remain, and those birds all have yellow feathers. Which of the following
statements is true?
A) This situation illustrates the founder effect.
B) This illustrates the principle of macroevolution.
C) The ten remaining birds will mate only with each other, and eventually die off.
D) This situation illustrates the principle of adaptive radiation.
E) The hurricane has caused a population bottleneck,
5) Speciation can occur as a result of reproductive isolation. Reproductive isolation can occur when individuals in two populations of
organisms
A) have anatomical features that make it difficult for organisms from the different populations to mate and transfer sex cells.
B) can't mate with each other because mating occurs at different times,
C) mate with each other but produce offspring that are nonviable.
D) use different types of behaviors to attract mates.
E) All of the choices are correct.
6)Aristotle believed which of the following?
A) the best evidence for change within species is seen in fossil
B) natural forces are at work changing the Earth's surface
C) an individual's use of a body part causes it to further evolve
D) species are fixed (permanent) and do not evolve
E) None of the choices are correct.
7) Darwin found that Galapagos animals resembled species of the South American mainland
A) less than they resembled animals from Australia.
B) more than they resembled animals on similar but distant islands.
C) less than they resembled animals in Europe.
D) less than they resembled animals on similar but distant islands.
E) None of the choices are correct.
8) A change in the relative frequencies of alleles in the gene pool of a population is called
A) microevolution.
B) directional selection.
C) mutation.
D) diversifying selection.
E) genetic drift.
9) Genetic differences between populations tend to be reduced by
A) the bottleneck effect.
B) mutation.
C) gene flow.
D) the founder effect.
E) None of the choices are correct.
10) Fitness increases when an organism
A) survives many hardships.
B) lives for a long time.
C) passes on a greater proportion of its genes to the next generation.
D) is disease-free.
E) is stronger than the other organisms in its community.
11) The isolation of a population from other members of the species and the subsequent evolution of reproductive barriers between it and
the parent species describes _____ speciation.
A) parapatric
B) biogeographic
C) allopatric
D) sympatric
E) isolate
12) Speciation can occur as a result of reproductive isolation. Reproductive isolation can occur when individuals in two populations of
organisms
A) mate with each other but produce offspring that are nonviable.
B) can't mate with each other because mating occurs at different times.
C) use different types of behaviors to attract mates.
D) have anatomical features that make it difficult for organisms from the different populations to mate and transfer sex cells.
E) All of the choices are correct.
13) Which of the following types of reproductive barriers separates a pair of insect species that could interbreed except that one mates on
goldenrod flowers and the other on autumn daisies that blossom at the same time?
A) mechanical isolation
B) gametic isolation
C) habitat isolation
D) temporal isolation
E) behavioral isolation
14) The likelihood of allopatric speciation increases when a population is __________ and __________ the broader range of the species.
A) small . . . isolated from
B) large . . . isolated from
C) large . . . nearby
D) large . . . continuous with
E) small . . . nearby
15) Which of the following are polyploid plants?
A) oats
B) coffee beans
C) potatoes
D) bananas
E) All of the choices are polyploid plants.
16) A plant with 12 chromosomes produces gametes with 12 chromosomes; the resulting zygote would have __________ chromosomes.
A) 9
B) 12
C) 24
D) 3
E) 6
Answer Key:
1) B
2) B
3) E
4) E
5) E
6) D
7) B
8) A
9) C
10) C
11) C
12) E
13) C
14) A
15) E
16) C