Exam 21: The Evidence for Evolution

Industrial melanism involving the peppered moths (Biston sp.)is cited as an example of natural selection that has been observed in the last one hundred years.Recall that the peppered moth exhibits two distinct morphological types with dark and light colored wings.Which of the following statements about changes in these two types of moths as a result of industrial melanism is true?

The most precise method of obtaining estimates of the absolute ages of geological deposits is

Indicate which factors support the industrial melanism hypothesis.Check all that apply.

Natural selection has favored the dark form of the peppered moth in areas subject to severe air pollution,perhaps because on darkened trees,moth-eating birds see them less easily.As pollution abated,the light forms increased in the population because

Which of the following is the best reason that the origin of species according to creation science should not be included in the curriculum of biology courses?

Choose the true statement(s)about the evolutionary divergence of horses in North America.Check all that apply.

Radioactive isotopes are used in dating materials from the distant past.Which of the following statements about radioactive dating techniques is true?

Which observations illustrate shared ancestry by anatomical comparison studies? Check all that apply.

All vertebrates contain a similar pattern of organs,indicating that they are related to one another.This represents which of the following lines of evolutionary evidence?

Choose the true statements about species that show convergent evolution.Check all that apply.

Today,the fossil record

In the laboratory,fruit flies (Drosophila)were artificially selected for the number of bristles on their bodies.One population (R)was selected for low numbers of bristles,a second population (S)for high numbers of bristles. -After 35 generations (about 1 year's time),the two populations R and S were studied.Researchers found

The observation that different geographical areas sometimes exhibit plant and animal communities of similar appearance,even though the individual plants and animals are not closely related,is called

Plants in the desert-adapted families Cactacea (cactus)and Euphorbia (euphorbs)share many of the same physical characteristics,such as succulent stems that store water and CAM photosynthesis,but they do not share a recent common ancestor.This evidence suggests that these families are an example of

During development in the mother's uterus,human embryos have pharyngeal pouches (sometimes called gill slits)that later develop into various glands.Fish also have pharyngeal pouches as embryos,but these develop into gills.The best explanation for why human and fish embryos develop pharyngeal pouches is

The pair of traits that best illustrates convergent evolution is

The side toes of a horse,the pelvis of the whale,and the human appendix are all examples of structures that resemble structures of presumed ancestors,which are known as

In a hypothetical study,equal numbers of marked dark and light moths are released in polluted and unpolluted woodlands and recaptured 10 days later.According to the industrial melanism hypothesis,which of the following results is unexpected?

Select all of the following that are valid counterarguments to the idea that evolution is "just a theory."

Which of the following features of ancient horses are adaptations for living on open grasslands? Check all that apply.