Download Evolution Test

Name: ______________________________ Per.: ______ Date: _________
Evolution Test
1. The combined alleles of all the individuals that make up a population is the
population’s
a. Relative frequency
c. genotype
b. Phenotype
d. gene pool
2. Which of the following is an incorrect match?
a. Lamarck – proposed that populations evolve by using or not using
particular features and passing acquired traits to offspring.
b. Malthus – determined that geologic processes and the fossil record
indicate that Earth is much older than 10,000 years.
c. Darwin – proposed that populations evolve as nature favors the survival of
individuals with particular traits.
d. Choice A and C
e. Choice A and B
3. Charles Darwin’s observation that finches of different species on the Galapagos
Islands have many similar physical characteristics supports the hypothesis that
these finch species:
a. Have grown larger since Darwin’s visit.
b. Acquired traits through use and disuse.
c. All eat the same type of food
d. Originated from a common ancestor.
4. The separation of populations by barriers such as rivers, mountains, or bodies of
water is called:
a. Timing isolation
c. behavioral isolation
b. Geographic isolation
d. genetic equilibrium
5. The ultimate source of new alleles is:
a. Natural selection
b. Genetic drift
c. Mutations in gametes
d. All of the above
6. When lions prey on a herd of antelopes, some antelopes are killed and some
escape and live to reproduce. Which best describes this situation?
a. An individual passes along acquired characteristics to the next generation.
b. Natural selection is a random process.
c. Individuals that function best tend to leave the most offspring.
d. Species remain unchanged throughout time.
7. A single species that has evolved into several different forms that live in different
habitats and features has undergone:
a. Adaptive radiation
c. punctuated equilibirium
b. Convergent evolution
d. mass extinction
8. A pattern in which species experience long, stable periods interrupted by brief
periods of rapid evolutionary change is called:
a. Convergent evolution
c. adaptive radiation
b. Coevolution
d. punctuated equilibrium
9. On the Galapagos Islands, Charles Darwin observed:
a. Completely unrelated species on each of the islands.
b. Species exactly like those found in mainland South America.
c. Somewhat similar species to those on the mainland, with traits that suited
their particular environments.
d. Species completely unrelated to those found in mainland South America.
10. Which one of the following reproductive barriers separates a pair of species that
could interbreed except one mates at dusk and the other mates at dawn?
a. Temporal isolation
c. habitat isolation
b. Behavioral isolation
d. mechanical isolation
11. Sometimes, organisms that are not closely related look similar because of:
a. Convergent evolution
c. cladistics
b. Radiometric dating
d. punctuated equilibrium
12. Which choice is TRUE about the Cambrian Explosion? It is a time in Earth’s
history when fossils record …
a. a mass extinction.
b. prolonged and explosive volcanic activity.
c. An impact with a massive asteroid.
d. An increase in speciation and burst of diversity in life forms.
13. A random change in the gene pool of a population due to chance is called:
a. Gene flow
c. genetic drift
b. Natural selection
d. the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium
14. Which of the following best exemplifies the idea of coevolution?
a. The average beak size of a hummingbird population increases as flower
size increases in a given habitat.
b. A moth population becomes predominantly dark as a result of pollution
from the industrial revolution.
c. Individuals that are heterozygous for the sickle cell allele are most likely
to survive and reproduce.
d. Mass extinctions wipe out large numbers of organisms and set the stage
for adaptive radiation.
15. Darwin’s theory of evolution is based on the idea(s) of:
a. Variation and natural selection
b. Use and disuse
c. A tendency toward perfect, unchanging species
d. The transmission of acquired characteristics.
16. Thirty people are selected for a long-term mission to colonize a planet many light
years away from Earth. The mission is successful and the population rapidly
grows to several hundred individuals. However, certain genetic diseases are
unusually common in this group, and their gene pool is quite different from that
of the Earth population they have left behind. Which of the following phenomena
has left its mark on this population?
a. The Founder Effect
c. Gene Flow
b. Natural Selection
d. Mutation
17. Biological fitness is the ability of the individual to:
a. Live to reproductive age
b. Contribute to the gene pool of the next generation
c. Adapt to environmental conditions
d. Acquire new characteristics
18. The number and location of bones of many fossil vertebrates are similar to those
in living vertebrates. Most biologists would probably explain this fact on the
basis of:
a. The needs of organisms
c. the struggle for existence
b. A common ancestor
d. the inheritance of acquired traits
19. The allele for sickle cell anemia persists in tropical populations because …
a. It provides protection from malaria
b. It improves fertility and leads to biological fitness.
c. There is no selective preference by nature to eliminate this allele.
d. It is the dominant allele.
20. When a farmer breeds only his or her best livestock, the process involved is:
a. Natural selection
c. coevolution
b. Artificial selection
d. survival of the fittest
21. According to Darwin’s theory of natural selection, certain individuals will leave
more offspring on average than do other individuals. Their survival is due to the:
a. Possession of adaptation developed through use.
b. Possession of inherited adaptations that are well-suited to the environment.
c. Lack of competition within the species.
d. Choices made by plant and animal breeders.
22. In humans, the pelvis and femur, or thigh bone, are involved in walking. In
whales, the pelvis and femur shown in figure 14.2 are:
a. Examples of fossils
c. acquired traits
b. Vestigial structures
d. examples of natural selection
23. Malthus’s work lead Darwin to think about …
a. Competition and “Survival of the Fittest” lead to modifications.
b. Earth being old enough for evolution to modify species over time.
c. The mechanics of how a species change over time.
d. How nature, like farmers, could modify species over time.
24. Which choice is an example of microevolution at work?
a. A mass extinction causing many species to go extinct.
b. A gradual change in the allele frequency of a population, changing the
overall “look” of a population.
c. The evolution of new species from a common ancestor.
d. The appearance of bioluminescence in organisms inhabiting dark
environments.
25. How does the Founder’s Effect influence the gene pool of given populations?
a. Increases variations
b. Increases mutation
c. Decreases variation
d. Decreases mutation
26. Divisions on the geologic time scale are marked by:
a. Gradual disappearance of species
b. Regular time intervals
c. Distinct changes in the types of fossilized life
d. Radioactive dating
27. Mass extinctions that occurred in the past …
a. Were followed by diversification of some of the survivors.
b. Occurred roughly every 100 million years
c. Cut the number of species to the few left today.
d. Wiped out land animals but had little effect on marine life.
28. Which statements are TRUE about the most recent mass extinction? (Select all
that apply).
a. It was the biggest mass extinction recorded in Earth’s history.
b. It was the only mass extinction recorded in Earth’s history.
c. It is generally thought of as the end of the “age of dinosaurs”.
d. It was caused by a global ice age known as “Snowball Earth”.
e. All of the above.
29. Populations are considered separate species once they …
a. Accumulate enough structural differences to look different from one
another.
b. Have different allele frequencies in their population.
c. Are no longer in contact due to geographic separation.
d. Can no longer reproduce fertile offspring.
30. Populations of the same species that become separated by bodies of water will
usually experience a(n) _______ in gene flow.
a. Increase
b. Reduction
c. Stabilization (remaining the same)
31. Which set of circumstances will contribute to speciation?
a. Migration of a small population in a new location/habitat.
b. Establishment of a large population with minimal variation.
c. Arrival of a new mutation in a small population.
d. Choice a and b
e. Choice a and c
True or False. If False, correct the statement to make it true.
A = True; B = False.
32. Dinosaurs went extinct 540 million years ago.
33. Individual organisms can evolve adaptations to be successful in their
environment.
34. When interpreting layers of sedimentary rocks, older fossils are found in bottom
layers.
35. Climate change was the main cause of each of the mass extinctions documented
in the rock record.
END OF SCANTRON
Short Response: Answer in a concise couple of sentences. Use relevant vocabulary.
36. How do homologous structures OR molecular similarities between species support
the theory of evolution?
37. Why is it incorrect to say humans evolved from apes? What should you say if you
are explaining evolution correctly?
38. Telepathy would be a cool next step in human evolution. Sadly, it is unlikely.
Explain why it is unlikely. What must occur for humans populations to evolve into
telepathic creatures.
________________________________________________________________________
Long Response: Please answer each question with complete sentences. Use supporting
details and relevant vocabulary terms in your answer.
Tuberculosis is an infection of the lungs caused by a bacteria known as Mycobacterium
tuberculosis (TB). This infection was one of the leading causes of death in the United
States until the dawn of antibiotics. For decades, antibiotics have been used to treat and
prevent the spread of TB. Recently however, TB is on the rise alarmingly, there are cases
of TB that do not respond to treatment with antibiotics.
 Explain how some strains of TB bacteria have grown resistant to
antibiotics.
 Discuss the process in terms of NATURAL SELECTION and
EVOLUTION. Be specific. Use relevant vocabulary!
 What are the consequences or concerns of this evolutionary development
to humans?
 Why do doctors want you to FINISH ALL of your antibiotics even if you
feel better after a few days? (Answer in terms of evolution)