Deck 21: The Evidence for Evolution

Question 1

A new plant species is introduced to Daphne Major and produces small, thin seeds.This plant species is highly adapted to drought and after 5 years has replaced over 80% of the native plants that produce large seeds.How will this change affect the evolution of beak size in the medium ground finch population?

A)Small beaks will be favored under all rainfall conditions.
B)Small beaks will be favored in wet years and large beaks will be favored in dry years.
C)Large beaks will be favored in wet years and small beaks will be favored in dry years.
D)Large beaks will be favored under all rainfall conditions.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Considerably more phenotypic variation exists in domesticated varieties of species like dogs and cabbages than exists in non-domesticated species like lions and maple trees.Which one of the following statements best explains why this is true?

A)There is no selection and mating is random under domestication.
B)During domestication, very high rates of mutation are induced.
C)Genetic drift is important because domestication involves small populations.
D)Many domesticated varieties would not survive in the natural world.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Domestication of dogs has led to

A)a variety of homologous structures.
B)a variety of phenotypes.
C)a variety of mutations.
D)a variety of reproductively isolated breeds.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which statement factors into artificial but not natural selection?

A)Most organisms are capable of producing more offspring than typically survive.
B)Phenotypic variation of a species has variable appeal to humans interested in that species.
C)Phenotypic variation exists within populations.
D)Phenotypic variation can influence reproductive success.

Question 5

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

A)light moths had lower fitness than dark moths.
B)light moths were able to produce more offspring than dark moths.
C)light moths were more genetically variable than dark moths.
D)birds ate more light moths.

Question 6

The half-life of carbon-14 is 5,600 years.A fossil that has one-eighth the normal proportion of carbon-14 to carbon-12 is probably

A)2,800 years old.
B)5,600 years old.
C)11,200 years old.
D)16,800 years old.

Question 7

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?

A)The dark forms are selected against in nonpolluted forests.
B)The dark forms are distasteful to birds and are thus safe in polluted forests.
C)The light forms are selected against in nonpolluted forests.
D)Birds prey more on the dark forms in polluted forests

Question 8

Some of the most dramatic evidence for evolution has come from human agriculture.One of the most highly artificially selected crop plants is

A)peas.
B)tomatoes.
C)potatoes.
D)corn.

Question 9

In studying the medium ground finch on Daphne Major, the Grants noted that each generation of finches had beaks

A)best suited for their parents' environment.
B)best suited for their current environment.
C)smaller than those of the previous generation.
D)larger than those of the previous generation. Each generation of finches inherited beak size from the previous (parental) generation; it was the parental generation on which selection had acted to produce the offspring generation's distribution of beak size.

Question 10

Which "alternate" hypothesis might also explain industrial melanism?

A)Dark moths are more resistant to the toxic effects of pollution than light moths.
B)Dark moths emigrate out of polluted areas to escape the pollution.
C)Pollution kills important tree species that peppered moths depend on for egg laying.
D)Because dark moths absorb more heat, they are more active and better able to avoid bird predation.

Question 11

The figure below shows results of bristle number in Drosophila flies after 35 generations of artificial selection.This figure suggests that

A)bristle number has evolved beyond the original range of phenotypic variation for this trait.
B)after 35 generations of selection, populations no longer exhibit variation in bristle number.
C)natural selection cannot lead to large phenotypic changes.
D)at the end of the experiment, "high population" flies were unable to interbreed with "low population" flies.

Question 12

A rock contains 18 mg of the radioactive isotope carbon-14.The half-life of carbon-14 is 5,600 years.How many half-lives and years will it take before the carbon-14 decays to less than 4 mg?

A)1 half-lives; 5,600 years
B)2 half-lives; 11,200 years
C)3 half-lives; 16,800 years
D)4 half-lives; 22,400 years

Question 13

Comparing the evolution of domesticated dogs to the evolution of wolves over the same time period illustrates what relationship between artificial and natural selection?

A)Artificial selection is slower than natural selection.
B)Artificial selection is reversible; natural selection is not.
C)Artificial selection is more likely to produce maladaptive structures than natural selection.
D)Artificial selection cannot produce changes as large as changes produced by natural selection.

Question 14

Today, the fossil record

A)can be dated only with one layer in relation to older layers below and younger layers above, no actual dates can be estimated.
B)can be dated reasonably well only with uranium-238.
C)can be dated reasonably well using a variety of radioactive isotopes with known half-lives.
D)can be dated precisely, to within a single year, using radioactive isotopes.

Question 15

A technique used in dating a rock can be used to accurately predict the age of the fossils occurring in the rocks.This technique involves

A)fossil dating.
B)successive rock layering.
C)radioactive isotope decay.
D)structural geology.

Question 16

Progressive changes in the fossil record are evidence for evolution because

A)they show descent with modification.
B)they show inheritance of acquired characteristics.
C)they show evolutionary change at the level of the individual.
D)they show gaps in the fossil record.

Question 17

The most likely explanation for why toothed whales have a blowhole is

A)they evolved from an animal with gills.
B)they evolved from an animal with nostrils.
C)blowholes are better for large animals.
D)blowholes are better for breathing underwater than gills are.

Question 18

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

A)It gives the general ages of rock strata.( $\pm$ 1 million years).
B)It gives exact ages of rock strata.( $\pm$ 1 year).
C)It uses a technique in which the degree of radioactive decay is measured, the younger the rock the more radioactive decay.
D)It uses a technique in which the degree of radioactive decay is measured, the older the rock the more radioactive decay.

Question 19

The evidence for industrial melanism being caused by an increase in the dark allele was provided from field tests carried out by

A)Kettlewell.
B)Lamarck.
C)Darwin.
D)Tutt.

Question 20

Industrial melanism is a term

A)describing the color change induced by living in industrialized areas.
B)explaining that the darker moths have higher mutation rates because of industrialization.
C)describing the evolutionary process in which initially light-colored organisms become dark as a result of natural selection.
D)explaining that the darker moths having higher reproductive success because of their pigmentation.

Question 21

The streamlined bodies seen in sharks, tuna, and dolphins best relate to

A)a recent shared common ancestor.
B)dissimilar selection pressures.
C)the physical properties of water.
D)the need to escape fast-moving predators.

Question 22

Evolution does not violate the second law of thermodynamics because

A)evolution is a random process; it does not require an input of energy.
B)Earth is not a closed system; it constantly receives an input of energy from the sun.
C)living organisms are not subject to the second law.
D)the disorder generated by extinction balances the order created by evolution.

Question 23

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

A)measure rates of sedimentary rock formation.
B)measure the ratios of various radioactive isotopes in the deposits.
C)apply the principle of superposition (younger deposits above older deposits).
D)make salinity measurements in ocean sediment deposits.

Question 24

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

A)humans and fish share a common ancestor that had gills.
B)human embryos need gill slits to breathe in the uterus.
C)humans and fish both develop pharyngeal pouches by random chance.
D)fish evolved from humans. Many developmental features reflect the common ancestry of vertebrates.Many vertebrate embryos are nearly indistinguishable in the early stages to all but developmental biologists; the different species begin to differentiate as development progresses.

Question 25

Which statement best describes the correlation between beak depths of Geospiza fortis on the Galápagos island Daphne major and the dryness of the environment?

A)Birds with large beaks are favored during wet years.
B)Birds with small beaks are favored in dry years.
C)Birds with large beaks are favored during dry years.
D)Birds with either size beak (large or small) are favored equally.

Question 26

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

A)analogous structures.
B)homologous structures.
C)vestigial structures.
D)homeotic mutations.

Question 27

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?

A)fossil record
B)homology
C)convergent evolution
D)biogeography

Question 28

The pair of traits that best illustrates convergent evolution is

A)an elephant's tusks and a beaver's teeth.
B)a lizard's arm and a bird's wing.
C)a dragonfly's wing and a butterfly's wing.
D)a cartilage skeleton in a shark and a bone skeleton in a dolphin.

Question 29

Homologous structures are

A)structures of animals that appear to have evolved from different parts of their bodies.
B)structures of animals that have different appearances and functions but seem to have evolved from the same body part in a common ancestor.
C)structures of animals that have the same appearances and functions but obviously no common ancestor.
D)structures of animals that have different appearances and functions but different ancestors.

Question 30

The marsupials in Australia closely resemble the placental animals of the rest of the world.This is an example of

A)the fossil record.
B)homology.
C)convergent evolution.
D)biogeography.

Question 31

Convergent evolution occurs when two species living in

A)the same area become reproductively isolated.
B)different areas become reestablished and are able to reproduce.
C)the same area are competing for the same resource thus causing one to evolve away from the other.
D)different areas evolve similarities through natural selection acting on those characteristics.

Question 32

Which one of the following features of Archaeopteryx clearly demonstrates that it was on the evolutionary line leading from dinosaurs to birds?

A)egg-laying ability
B)teeth
C)feathers
D)bony tail

Question 33

When you compare Australian marsupials to placental mammals today

A)the marsupials are all very primitive, having changed very little during the last 70 million years.
B)the marsupials are very similar to placental mammals in the ways they have adapted to similar ecological niches.
C)the marsupials have evolved much more rapidly than placental mammals and are more highly adapted.
D)the marsupial fossils look remarkably similar to the placental mammals of today.

Question 34

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

A)the fossil record.
B)homology.
C)convergent evolution.
D)divergent evolution.

Question 35

Mollusk eyes and vertebrate eyes are

A)analogous structures, because they arise from the same structures during development.
B)analogous structures, because they have the same function but derive from different common ancestors.
C)homologous structures, because they have different functions.
D)homologous structures, because they are derived from the same common ancestor.

Question 36

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?

A)It is not a scientifically testable theory.
B)It has proven to be false.
C)It has been superseded by more modern theories.
D)It is contrary to the beliefs of most scientists.

Question 37

In 2006, scientists discovered a fossil that had scales and gills, a flat head with eyes on top like a crocodile, and fin and neck bones that would allow it to prop itself out of the water.The best explanation for this fossil is that it is

A)a transitional fossil between fish and amphibians.
B)a transitional fossil between amphibians and reptiles.
C)a ray-finned fish.
D)a modern amphibian.

Question 38

In order for the scientists to artificially select Drosophila for their number of bristles,

A)they had to induce mutations into their populations of Drosophila.
B)they had to study the population for millions of years.
C)genetic variation had to be present in the population.
D)dramatic mutations had to be produced by the selection.

Question 39

Inhabitants of oceanic islands resemble forms of the nearest mainland but show some differences.This is an example of

A)the fossil record.
B)homology.
C)convergent evolution.
D)biogeography.

Question 40

The evolution of similar forms in different lineages when exposed to the same selective pressures is

A)called divergence.
B)called convergence.
C)referred to as successive homologies.
D)referred to as descent.

Question 41

It could be said that today's Australian marsupials and today's placental mammals have

A)undergone divergent evolution.
B)undergone selective advantage.
C)undergone heterozygote advantage.
D)undergone convergent evolution.

Question 42

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

A)convergent evolution.
B)homologous structures.
C)vestigial structures.
D)divergent evolution.

Question 43

The figure below shows the relationship between beak depth in the medium ground finch on Daphne Major and relative fitness.Assuming that beak depth is heritable, what do you predict about beak depth in the next generation?

A)Mean beak depth will decrease.
B)Mean beak depth will increase.
C)Mean beak depth will stay about the same.
D)Mean beak depth in the next generation cannot be predicted using this data.

Question 44

A scientist studying evolution of peppered moths (Biston betularia) in Michigan observed that the percentage of melanic moths increased by around 2% from 1960-1961.Has evolution occurred in this population?

A)No, because melanism wasn't adaptive at that time.
B)No, because the frequency of the melanic moths did not change enough to be considered evolution.
C)Yes, because the frequency of the melanic moths in the population changed over time.
D)Yes, because the frequency of melanic moths decreased.