Download Spring Break Worksheet on Evolution

True/False
Evolution
Homework
Part One Directions: Read
the statements below. If true,
mark true. If the statement is
false, mark false and then
correct the statement. Use
Chapter 14 or Ch 15 of your textbook to help you if you get stuck!
1) Darwin was a Frenchman who studied evolution, and created the theory of natural selection.
2) Evolution is a theory that says organisms change over time because of pressures created by their environment.
3) An adaptation is a physical trait that allows things not to become better suited for their environment.
4) Chemists are scientists that study the fossil record.
5) Because the trees of England turned black because of soot, the white moths increased in numbers.
6) An organism’s phenotype is a physical trait. Natural selection only works on an organism’s genotype.
7) DNA is found in the nucleus of a cell. DNA is the code for our genetic traits.
8) A gene is a piece of DNA.
9) Organisms differ from each other by the genes they possess and mutations.
10) Fossils are the only way to tell if evolution is occurring.
11) Natural selection states that if an organism is not suited for its environment, it will live.
12) Variation among a population is good because it increases the chances of survival of the species.
Part Two: Answer the following questions in note format or complete sentences. Use Chapter 14 or 15
of your textbook for assistance.
1. Explain why a characteristic that helps an animal to live longer tends to become more popular in
the population as a result of evolution by natural selection?
2. Not all characteristics, which contribute to longer life, become more common in the population.
Some characteristics contribute to a long life but not more offspring. For example, a female cat which
is sterile and cannot have any offspring may live longer because she will not experience the stress of
repeated pregnancies. Explain why a characteristic like this would not become more common as a
result of evolution by natural selection.