Question 1

Which type of snail would be best suited to hide from predators if this population existed in a variable (mixed patches of light and dark areas)  environment?

Accepted Answer

A)   The dark-colored snails would most easily hide from predators.
B)   The light-colored snails would most easily hide from predators.
C)   The multicolored (variable)  snails would most easily hide from predators.
D)   All snails would equally hide well from predators anywhere in the environment.
E)   All snails would equally be obvious to predators anywhere in the environment.F) None of the above
G) A) and B)

Question 2

In the context of natural selection, fitness refers to

Accepted Answer

A)   the variation in traits within the population.
B)   reproductive success.
C)   mutations that benefit an organism's survival.
D)   the physical health of an individual.
E)   the physical health of a population.F) All of the above
G) A) and D)

Question 3

Broccoli, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, Chinese cabbage, and cauliflower were all derived from the single wild species. This diversity is a result of

Accepted Answer

A)   adaptation.
B)   natural selection.
C)   biogeography.
D)   artificial selection.
E)   speciation.F) A) and B)
G) A) and C) D

Question 4

Lyell's Principles of Geology was the first text to give evidence that the Earth

Accepted Answer

A)   was created a few thousand years ago.
B)   did not change over time.
C)   was actually much younger than previously believed.
D)   was undergoing slow and continuous cycles of erosion and uplift.
E)   was undergoing a different process compared to what occurred in the past.F) B) and E)
G) C) and D)

Question 5

Which of the following is a step specific to the process of artificial selection?

Accepted Answer

A)   Members of a population possess heritable variations.
B)   The population produces more offspring than the environment can support.
C)   Individuals who have favorable traits survive and reproduce more than those individuals lacking such traits.
D)   People select which individuals breed and which ones do not.
E)   Over multiple generations of reproducing, a larger proportion of the population will have those favorable traits and thus adaptation has occurred.F) A) and B)
G) A) and C)

Question 6

Which one of the following statements is true?

Accepted Answer

A)   Organisms always evolve the characteristics they need to survive.
B)   Some individuals within the population must die for natural selection to occur.
C)   Darwin used molecular biology as evidence of evolution.
D)   Natural selection can only work on variation that already exists.
E)   Convergent evolution produces homologous structures.F) A) and C)
G) None of the above

Question 7

When comparing chick and pig embryos, the similar eyes, pharyngeal pouches, and postanal tails are evidence of

Accepted Answer

A)   analogy.
B)   convergent evolution.
C)   common ancestry.
D)   biogeography.
E)   artificial selection.F) D) and E)
G) A) and C)

Question 8

What do transitional fossils illustrate?

Accepted Answer

A)   All life is related.
B)   Shared ancestral traits.
C)   Convergent evolution occurred in the ancient past.
D)   Natural selection happened long ago just as it does today.
E)   All transitional links are now extinct.F) B) and E)
G) A) and B)

Question 9

A finch population with heritable variation in beak size arrives on an island where only large seeds are available as a food source. Describe the process of natural selection that would follow.

Accepted Answer

A)   Finches with smaller beaks would grow larger beaks so that they could eat the large seeds. All birds will reproduce and the frequency of large beaks within the population will increase.
B)   Finches with larger beaks will more easily eat the large seeds and are thus more likely to survive and produce offspring with similarly large beaks. The frequency of large beaks within the population will increase.
C)   All of the finches with small and medium beaks will soon die; all of the finches with large beaks will survive. The frequency of large beaks within the population will increase.
D)   Finches with smaller beaks would grow larger beaks so that they could eat the large seeds. Only these birds that grew larger beaks will reproduce and the frequency of large beaks within the population will increase.
E)   Finches with larger beaks will more easily eat the large seeds and not need to reproduce.F) C) and D)
G) B) and E)

Question 10

Refer to the figure shown here. Which of the following would have been a selective agent or pressure that could lead to the reduction in hindlimbs through time?

Accepted Answer

A)   The animal's body size was too heavy to support the weight on land and hindlimbs were no longer useful.
B)   More emphasis was placed on flexing the backbone than on paddling with hindlimbs for swimming.
C)   Appendages cause resistance, or drag, when moving through water.
D)   With the increased size of the tail and its use in swimming, the hindlimbs were not as necessary.
E)   All of the above answers describe selective agents or pressures that could have led to the reduction in hind limbs over time.F) A) and B)
G) D) and E)

Question 11

Interpreting this figure, which of the following is a similarity between Lamarck's proposal for evolution and Darwin's proposal?

Accepted Answer

A)   Both scenarios begin with a population of giraffes that contains variation.
B)   Both scenarios expose the giraffes to an environmental pressure (or challenge) .
C)   Both scenarios involve only an individual, not a population.
D)   Both scenarios involve differential reproductive success.
E)   Both scenarios involve giraffes of equal fitness.F) None of the above
G) B) and C) B

Question 12

Environmental catastrophes are a requirement of natural selection.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

What characteristics of Archaeopteryx tell us that it is a link to reptiles and birds?

Accepted Answer

A)   feathers
B)   tail with vertebrae
C)   teeth
D)   teeth and a tail with vertebrae
E)   feathers and teethF) None of the above
G) A) and E)

Question 14

Many people refer to Alfred Russel Wallace as the "father of biogeography." Which of the following contributions led Wallace to achieve this title?

Accepted Answer

A)   Wallace described the idea of evolution at the same time as Darwin.
B)   Wallace had traveled around the world and collected specimens.
C)   Wallace coined the term "survival of the fittest."
D)   Wallace described a sharp line dividing Australian species from Asian species.
E)   Wallace prompted Darwin to publish the book On the Origin of Species.F) All of the above
G) D) and E)

Question 15

The wing of a penguin and the wing of an eagle are

Accepted Answer

A)   homologous structures.
B)   analogous structures.
C)   identical structures.
D)   vestigial structures.
E)   not comparable in any way.F) A) and C)
G) B) and D) A

Question 16

Which of the following concepts would have been supported by Charles Lyell?

Accepted Answer

A)   that the Earth was only a few thousand years old
B)   that the Earth and its organisms were divinely created
C)   that the Earth and its organisms slowly changed through time
D)   local catastrophes caused the extinction of many species
E)   that species were "fixed"F) C) and E)
G) A) and E)

Question 17

Why are Australian mammals all marsupial while mammals on other continents are mostly placental?

Accepted Answer

A)   The marsupial anatomy is better adapted to the environments of Australia than is the anatomy of placental mammals.
B)   The placental anatomy is better adapted to the environments of North and South America than is the anatomy of marsupial mammals.
C)   When the continents separated from one another, marsupials in Australia did not have the placental competitors that were present in the Americas.
D)   Marsupials outcompeted the placental mammals in Australia.
E)   Australian mammals have a different common ancestor than mammals elsewhere in the world.F) None of the above
G) A) and B)

Question 18

Critical to the theory of evolution, Darwin needed to include an idea that was not generally accepted by scientists or society at that time. That idea was that

Accepted Answer

A)   catastrophism occurred at a uniform rate.
B)   the inheritance of acquired characteristics was true.
C)   the Earth must be very old.
D)   uniformitarianism was false.
E)   diversity of life was constant through time.F) All of the above
G) A) and E)

Question 19

Tortoises in the Galápagos possessed neck lengths unique to each island. Neck lengths appear to be an adaptation to which selective agent?

Accepted Answer

A)   ease in finding pools of drinking water
B)   type of vegetation available to eat
C)   reproductive barriers used to produce offspring
D)   defense against predators
E)   male competition for femalesF) A) and D)
G) D) and E)

Question 20

Darwin and Wallace both concluded that species evolve through the process of natural selection. What similarexperiences and information helped them bothreach the same conclusion?

Accepted Answer

A)   Both supported the ideas of Cuvier.
B)   Both were familiar with the writings of Lyell.
C)   Both traveled the world and collected specimens for museums in England.
D)   Both were naturalists.
E)   Both collected specimens from islands in the Malayan Archipelago.F) All of the above
G) D) and E)

Exam 14: Darwin and Evolution

Which type of snail would be best suited to hide from predators if this population existed in a variable (mixed patches of light and dark areas) environment?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In the context of natural selection, fitness refers to

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Broccoli, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, Chinese cabbage, and cauliflower were all derived from the single wild species. This diversity is a result of

Correct AnswerverifiedD

Lyell's Principles of Geology was the first text to give evidence that the Earth

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following is a step specific to the process of artificial selection?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which one of the following statements is true?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

When comparing chick and pig embryos, the similar eyes, pharyngeal pouches, and postanal tails are evidence of

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What do transitional fossils illustrate?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A finch population with heritable variation in beak size arrives on an island where only large seeds are available as a food source. Describe the process of natural selection that would follow.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Refer to the figure shown here. Which of the following would have been a selective agent or pressure that could lead to the reduction in hindlimbs through time?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Interpreting this figure, which of the following is a similarity between Lamarck's proposal for evolution and Darwin's proposal?

Correct AnswerverifiedB

Environmental catastrophes are a requirement of natural selection.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What characteristics of Archaeopteryx tell us that it is a link to reptiles and birds?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Many people refer to Alfred Russel Wallace as the "father of biogeography." Which of the following contributions led Wallace to achieve this title?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The wing of a penguin and the wing of an eagle are

Correct AnswerverifiedA

Which of the following concepts would have been supported by Charles Lyell?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Why are Australian mammals all marsupial while mammals on other continents are mostly placental?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Critical to the theory of evolution, Darwin needed to include an idea that was not generally accepted by scientists or society at that time. That idea was that

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Tortoises in the Galápagos possessed neck lengths unique to each island. Neck lengths appear to be an adaptation to which selective agent?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Darwin and Wallace both concluded that species evolve through the process of natural selection. What similarexperiences and information helped them bothreach the same conclusion?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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D

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B

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A

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